BIG BAD SETTLES WITH RED RIDING HOOD
Takes little girl's allowance in exchange for not taking her to court

CNET News is reporting that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has come to a settlement with a 12-year-old little girl who is an honors student and lives in a New York City Housing Authority apartment. The RIAA agreed to drop its case in exchange for $2,000 of the little girl's allowance.

"We're trying to send a strong message that you are not anonymous when you participate in peer-to-peer file sharing and that the illegal distribution of copyrighted music has consequences," RIAA chief executive Mitch Bainwol said in a statement. "And as this case illustrates, parents need to be aware of what their children are doing on their computers." (Instead, E-R predicts that their audience will send a message of their own ...)

Brianna Lahara has stated that she was "very sorry" for sharing songs and her mother echoed that by saying that won't be doing it anymore.

Luckily, the little girl has a champion ... P2P United ... who has offered to reimburse Brianna and her mother's payment to the RIAA.

"We do not condone copyright infringement, but someone has to draw the line to call attention to a system that permits multinational corporations with phenomenal financial and political resources to strong-arm 12-year-olds and their families in public housing the way this sorry episode dramatizes," said Adam Eisgrau, the executive director of P2P United.