It's only the start of a large battle. P2P programs are not in the clean, they have found a legal loophole at the current time, but it won't last long. Everyone knows that the file sharing programs are used to trade illegal material, and given time, they will be held legally responsible. It's just a matter of how, and when. P2P programs are great for many people (who use them legally), but legally it'll be a battle to keep them around.
Stopping illegal music trade is like stopping drugs. First you go after the supply line (those with large amounts of files), then you go after the dealers (non-leechers with stuff in their shared folder), and finally you go after the consumer (those who download the music). Starting today if you download illegal music, you are breaking the law, and you may or may not get caught. Same as when you go get drunk under 21. You know what you're doing is illegal, no one is stopping you from doing it, but you are responsible for your actions, and if you get caught, you do the time, or more likely in this case, pay a fine with money you could've used to buy the CD.
Example, Jason1 signs on, goes to download some New Kids on the Block. Searches, finds a user, starts to download the file, but damn, they're not sharing. Too bad, but wait! Not only are they sharing, but they are the RIAA and monitor the people who try to connect.
It's a battle that's not going to be won anytime soon, but it will sure help. Anyone who is scared and takes things out of their shared folder means less is being shared. The people they do sue are the users who are the biggest violaters, and once you get rid of them, your selection drops considerably. The underground community will always have their ways of doing things, but that's not the problem. The problem is when millions of people are doing it, the record industry is losing billions. If you bring it down to a few thousand, you've won. I mean, nothing stops anyone from bringing their CD to a friend's house, but if you cut down on the very popular practice of P2P file swapping, they've helped the music industry a lot.
And it's not like they can't get the FTP servers. Your ISP can monitor everything you do, and they keep a log of every site you visit, and they may keep a log of every file you've ever downloaded as well. If someone puts up a private FTP server, it's on someone's server, and the owners of that server can look and take it down, while getting rid of the account. If the server is their own computer, it's against the ISP's terms and they could drop your connection.
But you start at the top, and that's the guys running off University fiber optic lines sharings hundreds of files. But don't be surprised if they setup traps and get individual users. You are as much as a problem of them, because if you didn't go looking for it, those people wouldn't have anyone to distribute to.
For me, I have my trusty iTunes Music Store. I, like millions of other people out there, don't mind paying $.99 a song, especially if that means I don't have to deal with stupid P2P programs, bad downloads, and trying to find a fast server. I love Apple
Re: RIAA cracking down on file swappers
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