File Sharing Ethical Issues Essay

In the various media industries there are extreme worries concerning unauthorized downloading and copying of their products known as piracy. Piracy of items has been part of commerce for centuries; counterfeiting of currency for example. With the information age the ease at which media can be pirated has caused an explosion of this phenomenon. This practice is an illegal act that is done by individuals for personal use and also for profit. The first do not seem to see the issues caused by this practice such as; the spreading of viruses and lower quality products. We will use Reynolds' Seven-Step Ethical Decision Making Approach for the breakdown of the ethical reality of software piracy.

In the late 1990s, most homes and organizations began to receive Internet access. In correlation, many features became available to Web including the fact that files of any type could be downloaded with ease from any source quickly and often for free. The film and music industries felt that the availability of the Internet was posing a large threat to their business model. It was so easy to obtain a song or even an entire movie clip with a click of a mouse. Software and books could be had for “free” as well. It was a common misconception then that these files were available for the taking without needing to pay for it and also without any worry of penalty. In turn, many otherwise “innocent” individuals would obtain this copyrighted

This paper is an analytical essay on global ethical issues on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing. A history and background of peer-to-peer file-sharing will be given, as well as how it became an issue. This paper will explore what aspects of file-sharing are ethical and at what point it becomes unethical. An explanation of the laws will be described and whether the laws different from region-to-region around the world. The paper will include personal experiences with file sharing, as well as an in-depth analysis on the topic with high-quality industry and academic references to defend a particular moral/ethical position.

In the article “Internet Piracy Harms Artists”, Phil Gardson explains how internet piracy such as online music sharing and other forms of copyrighting music hurts hardworking singers and songwriters. He also asserts that it is imperative that Congress should in act a law against these types of crimes to help protect artists.

The article “Stealing Music: Is It Wrong Or Isn’t It?”, by Michael Arrington, presents the difference in the term “stealing music” as applied to the older decades and nowadays, in the 2000’s. It also presents the situations where sharing music is a good thing, and where it is not. Finally, it explains the abandonment of copyright infringement, due to the increasing lack of record labels. The article begins by discussing what the term “stealing music” really means. The article also explains the websites, such as MySpace Music, where streaming music can be done without any trouble. Furthermore, it discusses that in the country of China, you can listen to music free from Google websites.

In today’s society, internet plays a pivotal role, influencing individuals in all classes, of all ages, and in various financial backgrounds. Because the Net dominates a large portion of the population’s time, many people have become accustomed to its current policies and ease of access to different types of media. So when consumers were threatened with the possibility of change, an enthusiastic reaction occurred worldwide. Internet users today are acclimated to downloading or torrenting music, games, and movies that would normally have a fee, for free, infringing the media’s copyrights in the process. Due to the rapid growth in this illicit activity, legislations such as SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA have been proposed; however they have been met

Turmoil soon follows when the issue of piracy is brought into light. Piracy is defined as the act of downloading others work illegally, which includes but is not restricted to: movies, software, music and books. The music industry constantly sparks this discussion among the masses for obvious reasons. Those opposing mainly being the consumers, whose connection is strictly enjoying the work put before them, rather than benefiting financially in a discernible way. Using the term industry to describe the active relationship of business and money embedded into our abstract concept of society. Only when downloading is done for free does the question arise; is this right?

“Hundreds of Internet users are suspected of illegally trading music using file-swapping services” (www.joelcomm.com, year). This surge in the illegal trading of music is having a major impact on the music industry this is why we should have harsher punishment of the illegal download of music .Many smaller and lesser known artists are suffering because they are not making any money form the downloading and illegal trading off their songs. The illegal download of copy righted music and the easy access to free songs from is affect many local businesses, many cd and music stores are closing down because off the illegal file trading and down loading of music. This calls for harsher punishment for the illegal down load of copy righted music. We

Once upon a time a website provided free music through peer-to-peer file sharing. This was a new technology for the public for a several reasons. The price of home computers had declines dramatically and many people could now afford one. Because of the affordability, many people who had never used a computer suddenly found themselves enmeshed in the new media. Not only could people do their e-mail, do paperwork, play games and use all the different applications they now could also share their files with others. Of course, they wanted to share one of our most valued pleasures, our love of music. The public was not aware that this type of file sharing was illegal because it was not clear on the website disclaimer. Most people did not

We all know that downloading pirated music and films is illegal, but what exactly is it? The term piracy refers to the copying and selling of music, films and other media illegally; in other words you are copying and selling copyrighted media without the permission of the original owner (NiDirect, n.d.). With the massive growth of the internet and its ability to store and capture vast amounts of data, we have become much more reliable on information systems in all aspects of life, but it does not come without the risk of information technology being used unethically. With the number of IT breakthroughs in recent years “the importance of ethics and human values has been underemphasised” often resulting in various consequences. Not surprisingly one of the many public concerns about the ethical use of IT is that “millions of people have downloaded music and movies at no charge and in apparent violation of copyright laws at tremendous expense to the owners of those copyrights” (Reynolds, Ethics in Information Technology, 2015). This essay covers the ethical issues of downloading pirated music and films and the impact it has on music corporations and recording and film companies.

Prior to the 1990s, United States copyright legislation, like the media that it protected, had remained relatively unchanged. The advancement of digital technologies, specifically the advent of the Internet and the increasing ability to easily exchange digital media, prompted a change in copyright law. This change came in the form of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The act extends the protections given to copyright holders. In order to provide this additional protection, the DMCA also has adverse effects. This paper will explore copyright law in the United States and discuss the positive and negative effects of the DMCA, as well as some of the ethical implications associated with it.

Continuing on the ethicality of file-sharing, I found an interesting trend based on gender. Females, consisting of half the survey, while still downloading music as often as males, were the only ones to admit that they felt it was immoral to share music online. Similarly, females were the only ones that showed any sign that they felt these programs were hurting the music industry. These feelings did not come out of their responses on the survey, but in the brief discussion that I had with them after they finished the survey. None of the males that took the survey said that the felt guilty or immoral for downloading music. They all felt that the industry was rich enough as it is and that they were not hurting it by downloading several songs a week.

Ever since 18-year-old Shawn Fanning created Napster in his Northeastern University dorm room in 1999, downloading and sharing music online has become one of the most popular things to do on the Internet today. But why wouldn't it? Getting all your favorite songs from all your favorite artists for free, who wouldn't want to start sharing music? The answer to that question are the people who feel that stealing from the music industry is not morally right, because that is exactly what every person who shares music is doing. People who download music think it's something they can get away with but now it might be payback time to a lot of those people.

Illegal downloading is an act of obtaining copyrighted music without proper payment or consent from an owner. This is a crime and consequences may vary depending on the degree of this matter. Commonly, video and film are illegally downloaded, resulting in many antagonistic responses from the recording industry. This topic sparked a controversy among the recording companies for negligent laws to be turned upside down. The peer-to-peer network is highly responsible for this matter in which individuals share music through the linkage of computers via the internet. Many cases had been handled in court, and one of the outcomes affected drastically in the life of a twelve year old girl, who was fined a great sum. These cases help to unleash a message towards the public: when caught, one will be dealt according to the law.

Companies like Apple, have decided that it is best to get in with the downloading business. However, an end to the illegal downloading conflict remains to be realized. The RIAA and associated artists continue to wage war against illegal downloaders while computer savvy audiences persist in sharing music files online every day. While it is undoubtedly true that downloading music is a crime, it remains to be proven that it is wrong. Without establishing this principle, most downloader's are likely to continue the activity. Even with new, inexpensive and available means of downloading files, they can still be shared for free online. The rift must be repaired between music lovers who feel that they have been taken advantage of in the past and recording companies and artists who worry about their future livelihood.