[FYI] Peer-to-peer sharing on the Internet

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

http://cjlt.dal.ca/vol1_no1/articles/01_01_MeBePo_gnutella_fset.html

------------------------------ CUT ------------------------------

Peer-to-peer sharing on the Internet: An analysis of how Gnutella 
networks are used to distribute pornographic material  

Michael D. Mehta,* Don Best** and Nancy Poon***  

Introduction  

[...]

Conclusion   

Use of the Gnutella network to share data is growing rapidly. On any 
given day, millions of files containing pornographic or copyright 
protected material are exchanged. Early attention to the sharing of 
copyright protected material focused on identifiable targets like 
Napster. As stated earlier in the paper, Napster was used exclusively 
for exchanging digital music. Being a centralised service, Napster 
was easily targeted for legal action. Decentralised peer-to-peer 
sharing applications are a tougher target for such actions.   

Many of the applications used to access Gnutella facilitate the 
exchange of copyright protected music and software, as well as 
pornographic material (which may or may not be protected by 
copyright). The recording and motion picture industry associations, 
along with artists, are likely to launch legal challenges against 
individuals identified as top-sharing peers. Internet service 
providers may also be included in any such challenges. It is unlikely 
that similar kinds of challenges will be mounted for disseminating 
pornographic material through these networks. For several years now, 
pornographic material, both copyright protected and non-copyright 
protected, has been widely available in Usenet, World Wide Web, FTP 
sites, etc. The legal challenges that may come along will probably 
have more to do with the nature of this material (its content) than 
its status as intellectual property. Also, such actions are likely to 
have a significant impact on how the Internet unfolds in coming 
years. Will the Internet become a tool for democratic dialogue and a 
forum for a revitalisation of what Jurgen Habermas47 called the 
"public sphere"? Or will it become the electronic equivalent of a 
shopping mall with accelerated convergence with traditional broadcast 
media (e.g., WebTV)? Clearly, decentralised peer-to-peer sharing, and 
its role in determining the future course of the Internet, poses a 
range of social and legal challenges that we encourage legal scholars 
and social scientists to investigate.   

------------------------------ CUT ------------------------------



-- 
To unsubscribe, e-mail: debate-unsubscribe@lists.fitug.de
For additional commands, e-mail: debate-help@lists.fitug.de