July 29, 2005 11:50AM  |
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Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff believes that a move toward more legislation governing file-sharing applications will have limited effect. “Since a bunch of them run on open-source software, that means for some places there’s no central source,” he said. “There’s nobody to sue.”
 A U.S. Senate committee has held a hearing to pick over the bones of the MGM v. Grokster case recently decided in the Supreme Court. The goal of the hearing was to determine whether legislation is needed to bolster the court’s decision.Members of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation met Thursday and expressed concern that peer-to-peer software makers were not taking enough action to stop copyright infringement or to filter pornography. Committee Chair Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) noted that another hearing would be held in the fall to discuss how porn is distributed through file-sharing software and how filters could be put in place to protect children.
At the hearing, executives from companies and organizations spoke on the peer-to-peer issue. Included were representatives from the film and recording industries and also P2P United, Wurld Media, Earthlink and the National Venture Capital Association. Adam Eisgrau, P2P United executive director, told senators that there is no “technological magic bullet” for filtering illicit content. In response, Sen. Stevens pointed out that panelists did not display any motivation to develop mechanisms that could “bring about some standards.” Panel members, even those from the entertainment industry, generally discouraged Congress from taking immediate steps toward writing additional legislation, saying that the Grokster decision was adequate for now.
Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff believes that such a move will have limited effect. “If file-sharing is made illegal, they could put a few companies out of business, but since a bunch of them run on open-source software, that means for some places there’s no central source,” he said. “There’s nobody to sue.” If legislation is passed, networks that run on open-source software built by a community of dispersed developers with no central office or corporate entity still could proliferate and circumvent new laws. “Congress can’t pass a law against this and make it go away,” said Bernoff, “That would be like saying it’s illegal for cars to crash into each other. You can pass the law, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop happening.” |
