FITUG e.V. Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft

Peer-to-peer sharing on the Internet

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

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.

Zurück