Difference between revisions of "File Sharing"
(→See Also) |
(→Ethics of File Sharing) |
||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
==Ethics of File Sharing== | ==Ethics of File Sharing== | ||
| − | There is an estimated 700 million copyright-infringed music files on the Internet.<ref>Plowman, Sacha, and Sigi Goode. “Factors Affecting the Intention to Download Music: Quality Perceptions and Downloading Intensity.” Control 49.2004 (2009) : 84-97.</ref> But this was not the original reason file sharing was created. There are also just as many cases of legal sharing of free/open source software, games, music, books, or other forms of media. Because file sharing is used for everything from illegal downloading to sharing collaborative documents or a local artist gaining popularity for his music through free downloads, ethical arguments appear on both sides of the spectrum, both in favor and against file sharing. | + | There is an estimated 700 million copyright-infringed music files on the Internet.<ref>Plowman, Sacha, and Sigi Goode. “Factors Affecting the Intention to Download Music: Quality Perceptions and Downloading Intensity.” Control 49.2004 (2009) : 84-97.</ref> But this was not the original reason file sharing was created. There are also just as many cases of legal sharing of free/open source software, games, music, books, or other forms of media. Because file sharing is used for everything from illegal downloading to sharing collaborative documents or a local artist gaining popularity for his music through free downloads, ethical arguments appear on both sides of the spectrum, both in favor and against file sharing. It is interesting to note that in 2009, fifty-eight percent of Americans who follow the file sharing debate said that in a few cases, file sharing is appropriate. In this study, within the group of 18-29 year olds, seventy-percent of respondents favored file sharing <ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/18/opinion/polls/main573990.shtml</ref>. |
===Support=== | ===Support=== | ||
Revision as of 14:37, 13 December 2011
File sharing is the ability to transmit or “share” files from one computer to another over the Internet.
Contents
History
The history of file sharing dates back to 1971 when the 8 inch floppy diskette was invented by IBM. [1] It rapidly won its acceptance as a useful data storage medium. Floppy disks allowed users to transfer files from one drive to another. In 1990, the World Wide Web (WWW) was officially proposed. The WWW provided users with easy access to file sharing. Within the next year, the MP3 standard is introduced.[2] This was the turning point which ultimately lead to Digital Piracy.
The first MP3 player was released in 1997 and it was called the MPMan F10. A year later the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed and was used as a weapon of piracy destruction and was greatly used in many legal actions against file sharing services[3].
In 1999 Shawn Fanning created Napster. Napster is an online music sharing software. A user could selectively download specific songs from users that had purchased CD’s and made them available to other users on Napster. Users were sharing each others music. This institutes deliberate copyright infringement and this brings about the legality of file sharing which is discussed below. Just two years after Napster was created, the music industry organized a copyright infringement suit against them. Napster was immediately shut down in 2001. That same year, BitTorrent and LimeWire were released. BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer communications protocol for file sharing. The most famous site is The Pirate Bay (TPB) which was released in 2003. TPB allows users to share electronic files. As of 2011, it has over 5 million registered users and hosts more than 3.5 million torrent files.[4]
LimeWire is a free peer-to-peer file sharing software program. In 2010, LimeWire was forced shut down by recording companies, but the network still remains available in open source clients like Frostwire. In March of 2011, thirteen recording companies are attempting to sue LimeWire for $75 trillion. [5] It's clearly been a trend throughout the history of file sharing that legal matters arise and are attempted to be combated, but file sharing continues to be rampant in today's technological world.
Legality of File Sharing
File sharing is not necessarily illegal, but there's an active legal debate surrounding file sharing that has caused many lawsuits. Although, there are many artists that support open source file sharing and see it as a way to cheaply promote their music. Also, it's important to realize that file hosting services do not actively monitor the content being transferred by users. So, although the site itself is legal, the files (or music) being uploaded on the site may not be.
Ethics of File Sharing
There is an estimated 700 million copyright-infringed music files on the Internet.[6] But this was not the original reason file sharing was created. There are also just as many cases of legal sharing of free/open source software, games, music, books, or other forms of media. Because file sharing is used for everything from illegal downloading to sharing collaborative documents or a local artist gaining popularity for his music through free downloads, ethical arguments appear on both sides of the spectrum, both in favor and against file sharing. It is interesting to note that in 2009, fifty-eight percent of Americans who follow the file sharing debate said that in a few cases, file sharing is appropriate. In this study, within the group of 18-29 year olds, seventy-percent of respondents favored file sharing [7].
Support
Proponents of file sharing have two main arguments. One is that file sharing actually increases the sale of music. As users can sample more music, they are more likely to purchase that music at a later date. The second point coincides with the first stating that people who download from peer-to-peer (P2P) sites would not have purchased the music in the first place.[8] Other proponents argue that since music is more widespread and easy to acquire, it helps in promoting it across various pathways. Despite the unethical nature of downloading music illegally, many people partake in it because of the faceless nature of it. Since people can download music anonymously in the comfort of their own home, they are more inclined to do so and rationalize their actions accordingly. Even though most people know downloading music is unethical, they do it nonetheless because of this false rationalization.
Against
Those against file sharing argue such things as intellectual property, theft, copyrights, and the downfall of the music industry. That is, when someone downloads a CD, they are stealing property from the artist.[9] Downloading music illegally is potentially allowing thousands of other people to download the music from you. Therefore, downloading music online can potentially lead to millions of dollars of lost revenue for the recording company or artist. The greatest reason against downloading or sharing music is piracy, or “the unauthorized use or reproduction of another’s work."[10] Since most of the music that is shared is copyrighted, downloading, distributing, or sharing it violates intellectual property rights.[11]
Other Facts To Consider
The number of users of P2P websites has decreased dramatically in the past few years. Market research firm NPD group said that P2P use has dropped from 16 percent of all US Internet users to 9 percent over the last three years.[12] Attributed to the fall of the major players in the file sharing industry, there is less of a space for Internet users to find and download material. This could only add to a debate where file sharing users could say the problem is decreasing.
Government Intervention
Recently, the government has been cracking down on violations of intellectual property rights. Corporations and lobbyists have succeeded in extending intellectual property rights, and new laws have also been created to prevent the violation of these rights.[13]
File Hosting
| Site Name |
|---|
| eDonkey |
| Gnutella |
| Hulkshare |
| LimeLinx |
| MediaFire |
| Megaupload |
| Sendspace |
| Rapidshare |
| ZippyShare |
Torrent Sites
Examples of working torrents:
| Torrent Site | Specialization |
|---|---|
| AnimeSuki | Anime |
| BitTorrent | None |
| Btjunkie | None |
| CinemaTorrents | Film |
| ClearBits | Legally re-distributable media |
| eBookVortex | eBooks |
| etree | Live Concerts |
| ExtraTorrent | None |
| KickassTorrents | None |
| Mininova | None |
| Rutracker.org | None |
| Torrentech | Electronic music |
| Zoozie | None |
References
- ↑ Computer History Museum. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ↑ Timeline of file sharing. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ↑ Nistor, Codrut. File Sharing – History. PCTips3000. 2009-06-34. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ↑ The Pirate Bay. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ↑ Plafke, James. LimeWire is Being Sued for Up to $75 Trillion, Judge Thinks It’s “Absurd”. Geekosystem. 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ↑ Plowman, Sacha, and Sigi Goode. “Factors Affecting the Intention to Download Music: Quality Perceptions and Downloading Intensity.” Control 49.2004 (2009) : 84-97.
- ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/18/opinion/polls/main573990.shtml
- ↑ http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2004/08/internet-file-sharing-the-evidence-so-far-and-what-it-means-for-the-future
- ↑ http://www.copyrightguru.com/file_sharing_faq.htm#Is%20file-sharing%20ethical
- ↑ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/piracy
- ↑ Shang, R., Chen, Y., & Chen, P. (2008). Ethical decisions about sharing music files in the p2p environment. Journal of Business Ethics, 80, 349-365.
- ↑ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/only-9-and-falling-of-us-internet-users-are-p2p-pirates.ars
- ↑ Stahl, B. C. (2008). Ethical issues of information and business. In K. Himma & H. Tavani (Eds.), The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics (pp. 311-330). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
