Online File Sharing and Internet Piracy

In fact, according to the Federal Communications Law Journal’s article on pornography, “throughout the history of new media…pornography has shown technology the way” (Johnson 217). Pornography has pioneered many services that are now commonly used on the Internet. For example, it has popularized the online payment system, which allowed people to pay to view pornography via credit card. Another prominent innovation that pornography made popular was streaming content. Erotic pictures were not enough to meet demand so programmers of various porn sites worked to develop a format of video that functioned well in web browsers.

N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013 "Cyberbullying – What Is It?" Cyberbullying- What Is It? N.p., n.d.

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Web. 06 Apr. 2014. "How the Internet Is Making Us Stupid." The Telegraph.

They say it is all in the name of national security and the threat against terrorism and piracy. All the while the Internet is slowly growing outward and businesses around the globe actively use it to communicate across country lines and advertise their newest and latest product to the worldly consumer. The Internet has played a major role in creating new and upcoming businesses as well as in the destruction of large governments and expanding margins of profits in business, particularly in the music and motion picture industries. But that does not mean that they (music and movie industries) are the only ones being affected by the malicious users who call the Internet their home; Rather every industry that deals in intellectual property rights are affected. The Internet can be viewed as an alternate reality, similar to the old American wild west in the sense that lawlessness prevails at every corner and Uncle Sam stands by with other government agencies working around the clock to try and beat the bandits (or hackers/pirates in this case) in their own domain.

https://ilt.eff.org/index.php/Computer_Fraud_and_Abuse_Act_(CFAA). 24 April 2013. 27 January 2014. Fowler, Bree and Joe Mandack. http://news.yahoo.com/hackers-may-used-pa-company-hit-target-195942337.html.

The increases of piracy and hacking have caused negative effects on the economy and society of the world. First of all, the increasing numbers of piracy and hacking are contributed by not knowing that the people are actually committing an illegal activity, and the results are unexpected, harsh punishments. To begin, computer hacking is defined as “the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose” (“What is Computer Hacking?”). An example of hacking that most people do not know about is Jailbreaking an Ipod. Jailbreaking allows the product to be independent from the creators, in this case, Apple.

"Technology Is Invading Our Privacy." Direct Marketing News. N.p., 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Apr.

01 Jan. 2014. “Who Creates Malware and Why?" Securelist.com. N.p., n.d. Web.

2014. "What Is Cyberbullying." Home. N.p., n.d. Web.