In case you didn't hear, the RIAA laid charges on a 12 year old girl from New York State for copyright violations by downloading music over the Internet.

It has now been announced (CNN story) that the RIAA has rushed to settle with the young Brianna LaHara, after serving her with a lawsuit on Monday. It looks like her single mother will be paying a $2,000 fine to the RIAA for her daughter's song-swapping, which they had thought was legal. They purchased the software that allowed them to swap files with other users.

Quoting Brianna: "I am sorry for what I have done. I love music and don't want to hurt the artists I love." What a relief this must be for the huge bands like Metallica. </end sarcasm>

You might think that the RIAA was being excessive but see, downloading files is just a gateway crime... by the time this girl is 17, she'll be sharing video games, and maybe by the time she's in her early 20's she'll be giving away illegal copies of Microsoft Office! Thank goodness for American justice.</end sarcasm (this time for real)>