P2P: Public Enemy #1

[Hae-Yu]

Well, the crooks are at it again. A collection of Representatives say that because government information is on P2P networks, that P2P apps are a national security risk. Several lambasted Lime Wire chairman for his part in this dastardly scheme to undermine national security.

Nevermind that it's the fault of the federal employees or contractors who are installing P2P apps on their work PCs or taking sensitive work home. Or the fault of network admins not properly securing their networks. Their argument is like saying "federal employees will inevitably say something they aren't supposed to, therefore we will remove everyones' ears."
This article (http://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/US-Congress-P2P-networks-harm-national-security/0,339028227,339280469,00.htm)deals with the political side.
This article (http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=privacy&articleId=9027949&taxonomyId=84) deals with the technology side.

The only reason they would paint P2P as a security risk is because they've been instructed to by their masters at the RIAA and MPAA.

[Triple_6]

It seems to me the RIAA and MPAA are only doing what they're supposed to be doing, lobbying government through different channels to get their interests pushed forward. Does it irritate me? Yes, because I use P2P networks and I benefit from them. However I have not joined an interest group in opposition to the RIAA, nor put any of my financial resources at their disposal, so I have no room to complain. I'm basically a free-rider for those people who are donating money and time to seeing the RIAA and MPAA restrained. So when the inevitable day comes that all P2P networks are shut down, nobody will have anyone to blame but themselves. That's how pluralist democracies work. You can't be a free-rider and expect your interests to be represented.

Look at that article. The CEO of LimeWire was the only voice of opposition in that entire hearing, and with all the people that utilize P2P services, that's pretty pathetic.

[Hae-Yu]

Yeah I know. One of these days I'm going to narrow down the topics I get angry about and focus on it instead of just bitching to the choir. I believe that it may take a generation or 2 to cycle through the officials and media execs, but Gen X and Y people will be much less beholden to the current patent situation than the Baby Boomers and they are much less afraid of the technologies.

On the positive side, the EU and Germans in particular have decided that file sharing is not a significant crime and have other things to do. The top cop in the EU recommended that countries shield ISPs so they do not have to hand over users except for criminal cases.