Privacy & Piracy: The Paradox of Illegal File Sharing on Peer-to-Peer Networks and the Impact of Technology on the Entertainment Industry

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing entitled “Privacy & Piracy: The Paradox of Illegal File Sharing on Peer-to-Peer Networks and the Impact of Technology on the Entertainment Industry.”  At the September 30th hearing, the Subcommittee heard testimony regarding the music industry’s initial salvo of copyright infringement lawsuits and its amnesty program; what steps the music industry is taking besides litigation to preserve its intellectual property in this digital age; whether those steps unduly infringe upon consumers’ privacy rights; how peer-to-peer networks plan to move from a business model predicated upon stealing copyrighted works to a business model based upon trading licensed music, movies and software; how the illegal trading of copyrighted works has hurt the music industry; and how to inform and educate a whole generation of children and young adults that trading copyrighted music on peer-to-peer networks is illegal.