September 8: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed 261 lawsuits against individual internet music file sharers, meanwhile announcing an amnesty program for people who admit they legally trade them. The amnesty program has been titled the ‘Clean Slate Program’, which includes a person voluntarily admitting their identity, erasing downloaded music, and then promise not to share music on the internet again. It is estimated that the illegal exchange of music files on the internet has resulted in 31% drop in CD sales since mid-2000. The 261 people charged vary from Harvard professors to grandparents, and all can receive penalties reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars.