P2P Blog

  Through the internet, people have been given the opportunity to freely share information to anyone and everyone at no cost. This information can contain a variety of things from written documents, pdfs, and even full movies. Illegally uploading things such as movies without having the permission of the publisher is what has caused debate in more recent times and its known as piracy. This type of file sharing, or ability to transfer a files to another computer over the internet, has put lawmakers in a tough positions figuring out how to hold people accountable for their actions on the internet. According to a New York Times article, “The United States Congress held hearings last week on the growing problem of piracy, which the American entertainment industry says accounts for the loss of $20 billion a year in sales.” Piracy is a widespread issue occurring around the globe, and many policy markers are trying to crack down on this issue by enacting laws that would actually bring along a prison sentence. 

P2P or peer-to-peer sharing, easily allows for piracy to occur enabling people to send files directly over a shared network. Websites like RapidShare enable people to easily upload various files and allows others to easily download them, regardless of what they contain. Although P2P file sharing can be bad, it is also being used for good by other companies. In a different article it stated “Google is teaming up with the nation's largest peer-to-peer lender. The search and tech giant is investing $125 million in Lending Club, which gets borrowers and lenders together outside the conventional banking system.” Lending Club removes the need for traditional banks and allows peers to directly confer with each other on potential loan agreements. Not only are people able to receive loans with ease, but they are getting them at discounted rates relative to their local banks. The high level of convenience is what has brought attention to companies like their’s, allowing them to facilitate close to $1 billion in loans in a single year. P2P sharing platforms can range from either strictly file sharing to even platforms where people can acquire loans. Although governments may try to enact stricter laws prohibiting things such as piracy over the internet and attempt to limit file sharing, it will always exist and continue to expand in the upcoming future due to the high level of accessibility to the internet.

Works Cited

Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other May 10, 2013 http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/05/10/182651552/peers-find-less-pressure-borrowing-from-each-other

Should Online Scofflaws Be Denied Web Access?" by ERIC PFANNER, The New York Times, April 13, 2009, p. B4. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/technology/internet/13iht-piracy13.html