I wrote a long angry speech about this a month or two ago, I'll try to find it...
Ah, here it is:
It's really sad how stubborn and clueless some of you people are. Ok, I'm going to start out by saying that KAZAA ISN'T ILLEGAL. The program in itself is perfectly legal. It's just a way of transferring files from one person to another. It is possible to use it illegally though, when the files being transferred are copyrighted, and the person sending it or recieveing it does not have the rights to the file. This is what the whole RIAA issue is about. The RIAA is a firm that protects the copyrights of it's clients, who are the record companies. The RIAA's goal is to stop the illegal distribution of it's copyrighted materials on Kazaa. Right now, employees at the RIAA and visiting Kazaa and are searching for music files that are copyrighted by it's clients. When they find the files, they download them and see who it is that they are downloading from. They then get the person's IP address by using netstat. Netstat is an ms-dos command that show's any internet transfers being made. After getting the person's IP/Domain name, they file a subpoena that allows them to go to the person's ISP, which has to give the name/address/telephone number of the user who had the IP address at the time of the file transfer. As of right now, around 1,100 subpoenas have been filed by the RIAA. The RIAA is then going to file lawsuits against those people. So that sums up the RIAA process, now for some Q&A:
Q: So that means that using Kazaa is illegal, right?
A: No, it only means that sending copyrighted files that you don't have the rights for is illegal. Any file that isn't copyrighted is legal to distribute on Kazaa
Q: Can I get arrested for downloading files off of Kazaa?
A: No, actually you can't. The RIAA can only file a subpoena if they downloaded an illegal file off of you. The RIAA can't put up copyrighted files and then sue you if you try to download them, because that would be entrapment.
Q: Is the government going to arrest me?
A: No, the government currently is not doing anything about this. These are civil cases, RIAA vs. filesharer, not criminal cases, Government vs. filesharer. So a lawsuit will only result in a loss of money, not going to jail. Also, the RIAA wants to settle as many cases as possible out of court to save legal fees. This isn't a campaign to try to make more money for themselves, as they are already getting paid well by the record industry. This is propaganda to try to scare people out of using Kazaa.
Q: What are the chances of me being sued?
A: Not very high. Millions of people use Kazaa, but only 1,100 are going to be sued right now. Also, those being sued are people who share a LOT of copyrighted materials for the most part. If you disable the uploading of files in Kazaa, then there's a 0% chance of getting sued.
Q: What is Kazaa Lite, and how can it help me?
A: Kazaa Lite is a version of Kazaa that has no Spyware or Adware. It also has additional tools that can speed up downloads and just generally improve the Kazaa experience. It can also prevent you from getting sued, because it has an option to disable letting people see what files you have. It also blocks IP address ranges used by the RIAA, but that feature isn't likely to help much, because the RIAA can easily use other IP addresses.
