Millions swap music files, skirt legal issues: survey

U.S. National - AFP
AFP
Millions swap music files, skirt legal issues: survey

1 hour, 3 minutes ago

U.S. National - AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some 36 million Americans have downloaded digital music or video files, with many finding alternatives to the legally questionable peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, a survey showed this week.





The Pew Internet and American Life Project survey said downloaders are now more likely to say they use online music services like Apple's iTunes than P2P services like Kazaa and Grokster.

The percentage of music downloaders who have tried paid services has grown from 24 percent in 2004 to 43 percent in the most recent survey, Pew said, but added that people "may now be less likely to report peer-to-peer usage due to the stigma associated with the networks."

With legal challenges intensifying against P2P networks and people who use them, Pew said people have been turning to paid services like iTunes, but other methods as well -- such as trading from a friend's iPod or through e-mail and instant messaging.

"Some 19 percent of current music and video downloaders, about seven million adults, say they have downloaded files from someone else's iPod or MP3 player," the Pew report found.

"About 28 percent, or 10 million people, say they get music and video files via e-mail and instant messages. However, there is some overlap between these two groups; nine percent of downloaders say they have used both of these sources."

The survey, released the week before the US Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the legality of file-sharing networks, found 49 percent of all those surveyed and 53 percent of Internet users believe that the firms that own and operate file-sharing networks should be deemed responsible for piracy.

Up to now, the courts have held that the networks -- as suppliers of technology that can be used for both legal and illegal purpose -- cannot be sued for copyright violation by users of the services. But that is being appealed to the Supreme Court.