File Sharing
By: John Frank
Napster, Morpheus, and Kazaa-to most teens, these names
are very familiar. Everyone knows about Napster, and the controversy
started over that. While not as many people may be familiar with the
latter programs, they are basically the newcomers in the wake of Napster’s
demise. Now, I’m pretty much guessing that anyone reading this most
likely enjoys some form of music, and has at least one burned CD, and
at least one purchased CD. If you fall into this category, then you
have had some contact with the RIAA, or the Recording Industry Association
of America. This organization basically controls the music industry,
which means whether you know it or not, you have had contact with them.
Until recently however, they have been relatively unknown to the average
person. However, this week, they have begun a cause, which will potentially
affect everyone who has any downloaded or burned music.
The men of this organization feel that they, and the artists they represent,
are losing too much money to the surge in internet trading. After failing
to shut down the servers, such as Morpheus, that provide the ability
for users to share via P2P (peer to peer), the RIAA is now going after
the individual who downloads the files. With a potential lawsuit of
$200,000 per infraction, one can see how this is a very serious matter
to contend with.
While there has not been any direct action associated with this new
threat, a few months ago, the association accomplished something unprecedented-they
forced an ISP (Internet Service Provider, Verizon in this case) to divulge
the identity of two customers who the RIAA felt had violated copyright
laws. Now, this may not seem like a big deal to you, but if you realize
the seriousness of this decision, you know that this will allow the
industry to attack any ISP for any of their clients’ identities. Basically,
your privacy will be taken away, and all of your online activity will
be recorded and used as evidence against you, if the RIAA feels you
are a threat.
The good side to all of this however, is that it appears they are more
concerned with the major uploaders who share 24/7 on high bandwidth
connections, such as T1 or higher. While the average person does not
fit into this category, many students at universities will be targeted
since the average university carries a fast connection. But this doesn’t
mean you can just relax since you never upload to servers-the RIAA has
also used a scare tactic in saying that they will go after a few “average
people” to make scapegoats for everyone else.
If you are worried about getting punished severely for all of this,
there are several options you have. Obviously, if you never download
anything, you are not at risk, but to many people that is not an option,
since they don’t have 20 bucks to spend on every CD they might like.
Since there are some 20 million plus users on the Kazaa server alone,
with 3 million on at any given time, the chances that an average user
will be targeted are slim to none. However if you do not share your
files to be uploaded by other users, you significantly reduce the risk
of being targeted, since their main focus is to catch the ones who share,
as opposed to the “free riders”. Also, make sure your computer is not
using the “supernode” option present on most servers. What this does,
is uses your computer to help transfer files to other users, whether
you have them or not. The RIAA will be focused on catching the frequent
nodes, and those with high traffic rates.
Overall, this is just another scare tactic of the RIAA to deter people
from downloading music. As with most new ideas, they are afraid of the
Internet and only see the bad side of things. If they were to put some
kind of compensation for the artists on the fees already involved in
computers and the Internet, then there would be no problem of the artists
agreeing to let their works be used (very similar to the payment authors
receive by allowing their works to be reproduced). While most of us
are just an average person who occasionally downloads a new song they
like, or compose mixes, the RIAA feels that violating our sense of privacy
will make us more likely to spend money on their products. I don’t know
about you, but I would be more likely to boycott anything that would
provide income to those who violate my privacy in that matter, and although
I have no problem supporting a band by buying their CD and merchandise,
most of that money never makes it to the band anyways. I think everyone
should take a serious look at these problems and work to find a way
to allow us the freedom to use our resources how we please, and allow
those who make music to still earn their living without making the greedy
fools of groups like the RIAA beyond wealthy, when they have done nothing
to improve the quality of the music entertainment.
