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Dept. of Justice Raids P2P User's Homes

Today the U.S. Department of Justice launched an assault on P2P filesharing. Using search warrants, they searched five homes and the offices of one ISP. This is the first time the department has applied such drastic measures against file sharers and comes shortly after courts ruled that P2P networks cannot be held responsible for copyright infringement. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the raids today saying that individuals from Texas, New York and Wisconsin were under investigation. The Operation has been named Operation Digital Gridlock and is targeting the illegal sharing of movies, games, software and music.

This is not surprising however, as the U.S. Government seems to always have sided with the entertainment industry in the fight against P2P trading. Even a comprehensive study at Harvard revealed that P2P doesn't have much of an effect on sales.

"When online thieves illegally distribute copyrighted programs and products, they put the livelihoods of millions of hard-working Americans at risk and damage our economy,” Ashcroft said. "The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing intellectual property laws, and we will pursue those who steal copyrighted materials even when they try to hide behind the false anonymity of peer-to-peer networks." Ashcroft did not explain what he meant by false anonymity. They believe the individuals and the ISP were operating five P2P networks known as, The Underground Network.

In this network each individual had to share a minimum of 100GB. Even a first time offender could receive up to five years in prison or a whopping $250,000 fine. The department also reminded citizens that illegal trading and piracy costs U.S. companies in excess of $19bn every year. This, of course, is coming without any study that's comprehensive enough to backup these claims. Even the entertainment industry itself refuses to make a study to see if P2P helps in any way. It seems this may have been a response to a decision made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which backs up the legality of P2P networks.

The court had warned the DoJ and entertainment industry not to get in the way of the technological advancements of P2P. This ruling however, does not protect people sharing illegal files.

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