Mp3 vs illegal, need help here!
Out of context: Reply #9
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- welded0
It's very simple why they target the software authors - cut the head off and the body dies, or so the theory is. I happen to agree with you that it's not so much the software but the users, however the industry's argument has always been that those who write P2P programs are fully aware of what goes on and therefore are party to it. Remember Napster 1.0?
Another analogy would be to litigate the auto manufacturers because all of their cars have the potential to go well over the speed limit, and they know this when designing and building them and could be able to build in countermeasures. It might not be a very strong analogy, but the point is that, yes, they're being assumed guilty and have to fight to prove otherwise. This, unfortunately, sucks because the RIAA (and MPAA) have so much money and political clout... At least in Canada it's been ruled legal to run P2P software as it's akin to having a photocopier in a library and in Australia a judge ruled that Sharmen Networks (Kazza's owners) aren't necessarily liable..
As far as privacy is concerned, there have also been recent rulings that the RIAA can't just demand personal info from ISPs. This is how they used to do it; just drop a bucketload of John Doe subpoenas on an ISP's doorstop and they'd HAVE to comply. Verizon was able to curtail this somewhat and, somehow, there have been other recent decisions futher helping to save privacy rights.
It's a brave new world. :|