TorrentFreak

TorrentFreak will soon cease to exist because of new legislation being considered by the Obama administration, a prominent music industry expert has announced. But we’re in good company. Music streaming service Grooveshark and the RIAA-approved iMesh will have to go too, and news sites like Wired, Techdirt and Slashdot will have to change their tune drastically so as not to upset the battered music industry.

The copyright monopoly is not a property right. It is a limitation of property rights. Copyright is a government-sanctioned private monopoly that limits what people may do with things they have legitimately bought.

Last week, Bryan McCarthy, the 32-year-old operator of ChannelSurfing.net, was arrested on charges of criminal copyright infringement. This arrest has once again raised questions about the seizure of domains operated by those that are accused, but not convicted, of copyright infringement related crimes. Critics ranging from bloggers to individual rights advocates to Senators have rightfully questioned the constitutionality of these seizures.

Now accused of uploading more than 1,000 movies, a major uploader at one of the world’s oldest BitTorrent sites was arrested at his home last month. Worryingly, the prosecutor in the case has just revealed that tracking the man was simple since he made no effort to hide his IP address, which was both residential and static. Is it now a sign of madness to even go online without some kind of protection?

Ask any veteran of the file-sharing community who their arch-enemies are and it’s safe to presume that the RIAA and MPAA will be the first two stones at the top of the piracy hate-pyramid. After all, when it comes to disrupting the activities of pirates – and in some cases ruining their lives – they have few equals. But are the music and movie industries justified in their actions when, after all, they’re supplying most of the content on which file-sharers survive?

We see it everywhere. Corporations are trying to take control over our communications tools, citing copyright concerns. Frequently, they are assisted by hapless politicians, who are also aspiring for the same control, citing terrorist concerns or some other McCarthyist scareword of the day. We should see this in perspective of the revolts happening right now in the Arab world.

The movie industry certainly had something to celebrate when it announced 2010′s box office revenues. For the first time in history box office grosses worldwide have surpassed the magic $30 billion mark and revenues are up 8 percent compared to 2009. But it’s not all positive news. Despite their achievements, in a surreal plot twist the MPAA is still calling for tougher legislation and strict enforcement to deal with the ever-looming piracy ghost.