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Stella Shin
Mr. Davis
Government 2
19 September 2016
Internet Piracy Act of 2016
The internet is used on a daily basis for millions of people and although it is a useful
source for all sorts of information, it also breeds illegal activity. Examples of illegal activity on
the internet are cyberbullying, using ad blockers, sharing subscription passwords (Netflix, Hulu,
etc), identity theft, and the list goes on. One of the crimes that people brush off is piracy. Many
do not realize that the unlawful reproduction or distribution of copyrighted digital files including
and not limited to music and movies is a serious crime. Thanks to the internet, people are
viewing this material for free when they used to have to pay to access this material. In the United
States, the consequence of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a fine up to
$400,000, up to five years in jail, or both a fine and jail for just the first defense. People who
ignore more than 6 piracy warnings from the internet service provider(ISP) are simply removed
from the system and are not given any punishments. They are able to continue using their
Internet like normal. The Internet Piracy Act of 2016 makes sure the ISP notifies the state
government so proper punishment can be inflicted. This is necessary because of the damage
piracy does, the lack of people knowing how serious of a crime piracy is, and because of how
easy it is to access these illegal file sharing websites.
Many people do not realize how much damage piracy can do. It only takes a single click
to share software, mp3s, movies, etc., but that one click can lead to the loss of a hefty amount of
money and jobs. Widely circulating estimates of 750,000 US jobs lost and $200 billion in
annual economic losses to piracy have proved similarly ungrounded, with origins in decades-old
guesses about the total impact of piracy and counterfeiting (Karganis 4). When people illegally
download content instead of paying for it, income isnt received. Therefore, people are left
without jobs because their jobs cannot be supported. Internet piracy has a negative impact on the
economy. Ouprasith operated the second largest online file sharing site in the United States,
averaging nearly 4.5 million visits per month and resulting in an estimated collective loss of
more than $10 million per month to the rightful owners, said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for
the Eastern District of Virginia (Operator of Second-Largest Music Piracy Website). Because

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of the internet, people can easily access these websites to illegally download music and artists are
not getting money for their songs. The music industry holds P2P file-sharing systems
responsible for a 25% decline in music sales after 1999, and it has identified unauthorized file
sharing over the Internet as a major threat to its long-term survival with large negative effects on
the broader economy as well (Goel, Sanjay, Paul Miesing, and Uday Chandra). Clearly, these
file sharing websites have a sufficient impact on economy. Piracy makes it unfair to the rightful
owners who should be making profit for their material because so many people download music
for free without paying for it.
The crime of piracy is often brushed off because people do not think it is a serious crime
or even that it is a crime at all. However, it is, in fact, a serious crime and it is illegal as well.
The law clearly states that downloading copyrighted material without the permission of the
author is illegal, yet 44% of students think that such an action is ethical (Is it Ethical?).
People are unaware that downloading these files is illegal and they are able to get in serious
trouble if they are caught. The recording industry estimates 63 percent of the music obtained by
end users in the United States is pirated (Intellectual Property Rights Violations). This
shocking statistic shows how piracy is not something to be ignored and taken lightly. As of
2011, 22% of global Internet traffic was used for online piracy (Kabli). Considering there are
tons of websites on the internet and so many other ways to use the internet than using it for
online piracy, 22 percent is a large amount of people committing this crime. It is extremely
difficult to catch people who are illegally downloading music and other files. This is why it is
necessary for the internet service providers to be accountable for notifying the state government
when piracy is committed.
The internet makes it extremely easy for any illegal activity because people are hiding
behind their screens thinking that they cannot be caught for anything they do on the Internet.
One of the fastest growing trends on the Internet is peer-to-peer file sharing. Every day, millions
of beginner and advanced computer users share various types of files online (PEER TO PEER
FILE SHARING). Googling a simple YouTube to mp3 converter can give you hundreds of
results and everyone is easily able to download music for free. In recent years, music industry
sales have declined in the United States by an average of 7% per year, after peaking in 1999.
Much of this sales decline has been attributed to the widespread use of illegal file-sharing sites,
such as Napster, Grokster, and LimeWire (Sinha, Rajiv K. and Naomi Mandel). This shows that

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there is a direct relationship between music industry sales declining and the emergence of illegal
file-sharing websites. Today's technologyspecifically peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharingallows
for easy transfer of files, including music, video, software, and other files. Unfortunately, these
transfers can result in unlawful downloading and sharing of copyrighted materials
(Filesharing). Everyone easily has access to any file sharing website and they can commit the
crime of piracy in seconds. Piracy is a serious crime that needs to have consequences to serve as
a deterrent.
To every issue, there are two different sides. Some say that piracy is ethical and some say
that it is unethical. The people that think piracy is ethical state that Spotify and other music
listening softwares have decreased the occurrence of piracy. They also state that they are able to
share files online because they are protected under the first amendment which says that an
exercise of the rights of self-expression should not be infringed upon. Nearly two-thirds of
Spotify users say they engage in less music piracy since the service launched. However, these
streaming services are having trouble getting people to graduate from using a free service to
paying for the full service. Once the free trial runs out, people may switch back to pirating
music (Seale). This shows that Spotify is not a long term fix for the issue of piracy. The Fair
Use clause of the copyright law strictly regulates the nature of the copyrighted material; the
specifics of how its being used; the amount thats being used (as a proportion of the whole
work); and the effect of such use on the potential market for that material. If youre sharing your
Eminem CD with others on the Internet even if you bought the CD legally its not fair use
(Copyright and Piracy at Mary Baldwin). The first amendment doesnt protect anyone against
illegal activity. Piracy seems almost impossible to stop, but there is a way to lessen the amount of
times it occurs.
Overall, piracy has a negative impact on the government. It is also taken very lightly and
practically everyone is able to easily access illegal file sharing websites. In order for piracy to
not occur as often as it does, more punishments must be inflicted upon copyright infringers.
Individuals who share or download copyrighted material must be penalized because it is no
different from theft. Those who ignore the six warnings given by their internet service providers
(ISP) shall be sentenced with up to 5 years in jail. The Internet Piracy Act of 2016 makes it
mandatory for the ISP to notify the government when these warnings are ignored. This act will
ensure that the rightful owners are getting paid for their work. It will also make sure no more

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jobs are lost because of piracy. The Internet Piracy Act of 2016 will better the economy and
punish copyright infringers who currently cannot be caught.

Works Cited
Print
Karaganis, Joe. "Rethinking Piracy." Media Piracy in Emerging Economies. New York, NY:
Social Science Research Council, 2011. 4. Print.
Web
"Copyright & Piracy at Mary Baldwin." Office of Information Technology. Mary Baldwin
University, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

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http://www.marybaldwin.edu/oit/copyright-piracy-at-mbc/
Filesharing." UMass Dartmouth. 2016 Board of Trustees of the University of Massachusetts,
n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
http://www.umassd.edu/cits/security/filesharing/
Goel, Sanjay, Paul Miesing, and Uday Chandra. The Impact of Illegal Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
on the Media Industry 52.3 (2010): 6. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aeb5/3691212cab1ebbadfaf9b78a4e28cf5a7903.pdf
"Intellectual Property Rights Violations." National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination
Center. IPR, Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
https://www.iprcenter.gov/reports/ipr-center-reports/IPR Center Threat Report and
Survey.pdf/
"Is It Ethical?" Ethics. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2003-04/peer-to-peer/ethics.html
Kabli, Sarah. "New Communication Technology Challenges for Law Enforcement." N.p., May
2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
http://cfrs.gmu.edu/assets/Spring13/New%20Com%20Tech%20-%20SK%205-2013.pdf
Operator of Second-Largest Music Piracy Website in the U.S. Sentenced. U.S. Department of
Justice. 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/operator-second-largest-music-piracy-website-us-s
entenced-3-years-criminal-copyright
PEER TO PEER FILE SHARING." Peer to Peer File Sharing. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
Sept. 2016.
http://www.atg.wa.gov/peer-peer-file-sharing
Seale, Caitlin M., Aaarrrggg Im a Pirate: Cloud-Streaming Services and Their Effects on
Music Consumption and Music Piracy (2013). Honors Theses. Paper 167.
http://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=honors_theses
Sinha, Rajiv K., and Naomi Mandel. "Preventing Digital Music Piracy: The Carrot or the Stick?"
Preventing Digital Music Piracy: The Carrot or the Stick? AMA Publishing, n.d. Web.
17 Oct. 2016.
http://facultynh.syr.edu/bjsheeha/Research%20Projects/music%20download%20research/music
%20download%20project/articles%20for%20music%20download/SinhaMandel%202008[1].pdf

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The Ethics of Piracy." Stanford Computer Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs201/projects/software-piracy/ethical.html