NCJ Number
223052
Journal
International Journal of Cyber Criminology Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: July 2007 Pages: 213-227
Date Published
July 2007
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study used recent data from the PEW Internet and American Life Project to analyze the latest shifts in the population of peer-to-peer (P2P) network users and examine reactions of P2P users to the surge in enforcement and prosecution in the illegal sharing of music files.
Abstract
It is concluded that in order to adequately address the impact of the enforcement of copyright laws on file sharing communities and the popularity of music downloading, file sharing and music downloading have to be analyzed separately, allowing for a much more detailed examination of the effect legal prosecution of music copyright violations has had on file sharing networks. The results show that Internet users are well aware of the circumstance that legal prosecution is only targeting the sharing of music files. Accordingly, the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA’s) campaign had an impact only on the downloading of music, but left the participation in file sharing networks almost unaffected. This indicates that Internet users continue to swap video, application, and other copyright-protected files. The analysis also revealed that the effect of the legal prosecution of music downloaders was not longstanding, but has been slowly wearing off since the campaign was started in 2003. However, today, the RIAA which initiated a surge of lawsuits against peer-to-peer (P2P) network users to stop them from illegally sharing music files is no longer the only industry organization targeting illegal downloading. This suggests that future studies should examine the successful efforts employed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). References and tables