Why pay for something when you could get it for free?
That’s been a topic of debate for the past decade or two, thanks to the ease of online piracy.
Ever since the rise and fall of file-sharing site Napster, record labels have been at war with anyone who would think about pirating their music.
In the early 2000s many lawsuits were filed for Internet piracy, ranging from those downloading hundreds of albums to soccer moms who downloaded three songs.
It got a little ridiculous. Popular peer-to-peer networking sites started to fall. First Napster went down, and Kazaa took its place as a leading file-sharing client. After Kazaa fell, LimeWire became huge.
As you can see, every time authorities took one site down, another one replaced it.
With LimeWire being the latest victim, it doesn’t mean piracy has slowed down — because it never will.
But people are still trying to bring free music to a grinding halt.
In the next few months, millions of people considered to be online pirates will have their Internet usage monitored.
This is all thanks to an agreement between the Motion Picture Association of America, Recording Industry Association of America and all major United States Internet service providers.
In June, the MPAA and RIAA struck a deal in yet another attempt to deter the online piracy of movies, television shows and music.
Partnered with U.S. ISPs, this new superteam will monitor BitTorrent and other public file-sharing networks collecting the IP addresses of alleged pirates.
These IP addresses will then be stored in a decentralized database for any repeat offenses. The ISPs will then notify users if their behavior becomes unacceptable.
After six warnings — that’s a lot of slaps on the wrist — ISPs may then take a variety of disciplinary actions which include slowing down or capping the offender’s Internet connection.
“ISPs will hold this information, as they do today. Please also note that no personal information about subscribers will be shared with rights holders without the required legal process being completed,” an unnamed Center for Copyright Information spokesperson told TorrentFreak.
The spokesperson also said users’ information will be stored in the database for a minimum of 12 months. After that time, it’s up to each ISP on what happens to the information.
While this plan may seem fine and dandy on paper, there are so many potential problems with it.
I — and I’m sure many other people — don’t like the idea of paying our ISP (whether it’s Cox, AT&T or whomever) to constantly watch what we do online.
Secondly, this past summer was filled with different groups (Anonymous, LulzSec, etc.) hacking and wreaking havoc all over the Internet.
This authority supergroup trying to crack down on Internet regulations will do nothing but upset the hacking groups, who will most likely proceed to break into and possibly destroy the database.
You don’t want to piss off the Internet. Sony learned that lesson the hard way.
I’ve never been afraid of threats the RIAA has made toward Internet piracy before, but they have been fighting a lone battle.
With this additional help from all of the major ISPs in the U.S., they may be able to make more of an impact with their threats. Maybe.
Overall, this supergroup will not defeat piracy. Will they slow down some people’s Internet? Probably. But they will in no way kill it.
So if you’re downloading Lil Wayne’s awesome new album while you read this column, you’re safe for now. But don’t be shocked when you find out your Internet service provider is peering down your neck more than you think.
Adam Arinder is a 21-year-old communication studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
 
 
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Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]