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US Justice Department ready to prosecute file-swappers

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by rockHEAD, Aug 22, 2002.

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  1. rockHEAD

    rockHEAD Member

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    article edited, click link for complete story

    US Justice Department ready to prosecute file-swappers
    08:51 Wednesday 21st August 2002
    Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com

    American federal authorities are turning their attention from terrorists to users of peer-to-peer networks, who could be jailed for up to five years. The US Department of Justice is prepared to begin prosecuting peer-to-peer pirates, a top government official said on Tuesday.

    John Malcolm, a deputy assistant attorney general, said Americans should realise that swapping illicit copies of music and movies is a criminal offense that can result in lengthy prison terms.

    "A lot of people think these activities are legal, and they think they ought to be legal," Malcolm told an audience at the Progress and Freedom Foundation's annual technology and politics summit.

    Malcolm said the Internet has become "the world's largest copy machine" and that criminal prosecutions of copyright offenders are now necessary to preserve the viability of America's content industries. "There does have to be some kind of a public message that stealing is stealing is stealing," said Malcolm, who oversees the arm of the Justice Department that prosecutes copyright and computer crime cases.

    A few weeks ago, some of the most senior members of Congress pressured the Justice Department to invoke a little-known law, the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act, against peer-to-peer users who swap files without permission.

    Under the NET Act, signed by President Clinton in 1997, it is a federal crime to share copies of copyrighted products such as software, movies or music with anyone, even friends or family members, if the value of the work exceeds $1,000 (about £640). Violations are punishable by one year in prison, or if the value tops $2,500, "not more than five years" in prison.

    Swapping files in violation of the law has always been a civil offense, and the RIAA and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have the option of suing individual infringers and seeking damages.

    "Most parents would be horrified if they walked into a child's room and found 100 stolen CDs... However, these same parents think nothing of having their children spend time online downloading hundreds of songs without paying a dime."

    Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, said he was sceptical about the view that peer-to-peer piracy should be a criminal offense. "If we have 70 million people in the United States who are breaking the law, we have a big issue."

    The DOJ already has used the NET Act to imprison noncommercial software pirates, which software lobbyists hailed as "an important component of the overall effort to prevent software theft".
     
    #1 rockHEAD, Aug 22, 2002
  2. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    Thank God the DOJ has its priorities straight.

    :rolleyes:
     
    #2 Jeff, Aug 22, 2002
  3. Major

    Major Member

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    It's about time. This is the only way you'll ever slow or shut down illegal file-swapping. Many, many people won't take the chance if they can theoretically get jail time.
     
    #3 Major, Aug 22, 2002
  4. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    the genie is out of the bottle. . . .. .

    Also. . i worry about which tactics they will use and which of my rights they will trample looking for illegal files.. . .

    Rocket River
     
    #4 Rocket River, Aug 22, 2002
  5. Hydra

    Hydra Member

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    I have never seen a CD or DVD that costs over $1,000.
     
    #5 Hydra, Aug 22, 2002
  6. Major

    Major Member

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    I have never seen a CD or DVD that costs over $1,000.

    I presume this is to stop the people that put a collection of stuff online as their database in the network of file swappers. Individually, they wouldn't be worth anything, but in sum total, they certainly would be. At least, that's how I interpreted it.

    Also. . i worry about which tactics they will use and which of my rights they will trample looking for illegal files.. . .

    Good question, but I'm not sure this is a real issue. If someone is, for example, distributing child p*rn, the feds have every right to identify that person from his/her IP address through their service provider. I don't see why it would be any different here.
     
    #6 Major, Aug 22, 2002
  7. Refman

    Refman Member

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    The RIAA has proposed civil suits against individuals. Their representative claimed that 10% of the users provide 90% of the content on p-2-p services. My guess is those are the people the DOJ will target.
     
    #7 Refman, Aug 23, 2002
  8. MovieManiac

    MovieManiac Member

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    Oh yeah lets start jailing people who swap files...That will go over real good....
    and lets just MONITOR the scum who like to crash planes in tall buildings.

    The US Justice Dept is a joke and so is the FBI our whole system really sucks.
     
    #8 MovieManiac, Aug 23, 2002
  9. lpbman

    lpbman Member

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    so who goes to jail if an entire family is sharing a computer and swapping files?
     
    #9 lpbman, Aug 23, 2002
  10. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    YOU DO!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
     
    #10 MadMax, Aug 23, 2002
  11. davo

    davo Member

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    Good comment.:rolleyes: Which system would you pefer then?

    Obviously, file swappers will not do jail time unless they are repeat, gross offenders.

    Any argument about USDOJ misdirecting its prioirities is absurd. Are you suggesting that we should ignore all petty crime, just because it is not as serious as say, terrorism?
     
    #11 davo, Aug 23, 2002
  12. drapg

    drapg Member

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    :rolleyes:

    personally, i can't really see file swapping ever officially coming to an end... its become so mainstream in our society that it will always exist in some shape and form...
     
    #12 drapg, Aug 23, 2002
  13. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    Of course! The DOJ can't do more than one thing at a time.
     
    #13 JuanValdez, Aug 23, 2002
  14. Refman

    Refman Member

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    I don't see why this surprises anybody. The DOJ is the same organization that had a military assault rifle pointed at Elian Gonzalez. :mad:
     
    #14 Refman, Aug 23, 2002
  15. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    Well, they can suck my C*ck, I hate the DOJ. 'Sides, why the hell should musicians make so much anyway. Just release all the songs on their homepage.

    MX 4eva
     
    #15 Ubiquitin, Aug 23, 2002
  16. Refman

    Refman Member

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    I don't have a problem with musicians making as much money as they can. What I do have a problem with is targeting individuals criminally for using a service provided by companies. If the DOJ wanted to be serious about this they would prosecute the boards of directors of the various p2p services. Targeting individuals is ludicrous and another poster put it perfectly. There would be 70 million defendants.
     
    #16 Refman, Aug 23, 2002
  17. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    why should musicians make so much money??? because we buy their records! because they're providing value! I don't know about you, but I'd rather NOT have people put limits on what I can make!! I'm sure musicians feel the same way. Why in the world would they just release their music on their homepage??

    I'm a lawyer...that's it...i'm not going to get paid anymore. I'll stock groceries at night...but during the day I'll just provide free legal advice to everyone. I won't use my skills to earn a living....I'll just do it for free!

    Are you willing to live that way, Azadre? I bet not....
     
    #17 MadMax, Aug 23, 2002
  18. Major

    Major Member

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    If the DOJ wanted to be serious about this they would prosecute the boards of directors of the various p2p services.

    The problem is, outside of Napster, these p2p services were designed such that the company is not responsible for the actual copying of the files.

    It's similar to the gun concept -- the gunmaker isn't responsible for a murder; it's the people that use them illegally that are the criminals. This is no different. There's nothing really illegal about the program itself - it could be used for legal purposes.

    It sucks that these companies profit off of it, but right now, the users are the only ones doing anything technically illegal.
     
    #18 Major, Aug 23, 2002
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