Quote:
Originally Posted by stonetools
Inany case, the strategy seems clear-go after the major facilitators of piracy and the individuals will take care of themselves.
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Nothing is ever easy. Let's put aside for a moment the question what were the intentions of Megaupload owner, and see if there are... unintended consequences.
One way of seeing the phenomenon of piracy is that it is, in essence, an abuse of technology for illegal activity. Since this hunt started, all file sharing sites were shut down, and what was once a legal use of RapidShare (put encrypted content for other person to pick it up, therefore bypassing the e-mail limits) is now not possible.
It is not so trivial to go after facilitators without, at the same time, hurting the infrastructure. For example, it is perfectly possible to abuse a web server to host (encrypted, some forum somewhere on the net has a link and a password) pirated book. A hunt for facilitator (in this instance, a site offering free hosting) will shut down that service
type. Can we, in broader sense, afford to enter that circle of fighting perverse usage of the technology?