INDUSTRY STARTS CRACKING DOWN ON P2P DOWNLOADERS
Source: 2600
In what appears to be a first, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has made direct threats against a user of a peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing network for simply downloading a pirated movie.
The recording and motion picture industries have clearly lost control over their copyrights as P2P networks have grown. People are demanding quick and easy access to entertainment on their computers, and a populus which has grown tired of paying inflated prices for retail music and movies has simply stopped doing so. The latest blow to the industry's image as a good neighbor came when it imposed expensive royalties on Internet music stations, immediately shutting most of them down. Many webcasters and their fans vowed to stop purchasing CD's altogether.