EliteTorrents.org, a site being used by BitTorrent file-sharers to download the latest Star Wars film before it was in theaters, was shut down by the FBI and US Department of Homeland Security yesterday, the Associated Press reports. It was “the first criminal enforcement against individuals who are using BitTorrent,” federal officials said. “Revenge of the Sith” was downloaded more than 10,000 times in the first 24 hours of its availability on the site,” they said, adding that “Elite Torrents had more than 133,000 members and 17,800 movies and software programs in the past four months.” The site’s home page is now a notice with the Justice and Homeland Security Departments’ seals saying that “individuals involved in the operation and use of the Elite Torrents network are under investigation for criminal copyright infringement.” President Bush signed a law last month that included penalties of up to 10 years’ jail time for distributing a movie or song before commercial release. Parents might ask what the risk is, here, for any file-sharers at their house. Well, the key phrase in the new law is pre-release distribution. So, no matter what the “popularity quotient” would be at school, kids definitely should not be involved in the trafficking of any media before their public release, and even then “sharing” is what media companies filing lawsuits call “illegal distribution.” A family discussion about file-sharing ethics is always a good idea; to that end, see “File-sharing realities for families.” Email me (or post below) about how it goes!
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