The Facts About Copyright Infringement

CCI and CAS were created to educate consumers and promote the enjoyment of legal copyrighted material.  The system is aimed at helping consumers understand when their Internet accounts may be being used for the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content and how peer-to-peer networks can be dangerous.

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Places Sensitive Data at Risk:  Theft of personal health information, sensitive financial records like bank account numbers and tax returns, and classified documents – are well documented hazards of using P2P file sharing services to engage in the distribution of copyrighted content.  Consumers are often unaware that they may be exposing all records stored on their computers when they use P2P applications for these purposes. 

• According to Congressional testimony, the number of hackers searching for sensitive records rose by nearly 60 percent in one year and, of the consumers who had inadvertently disclosed sensitive information over P2P networks, unauthorized third parties had accessed that information in nearly 87 percent of cases.¹

Consumers Are Often Unaware: 

• Children spend an average of more than seven and a half hours consuming media every day, with at least one and a half hours spent on the computer.² The sheer volume of media that children consume, through multiple devices, makes it difficult for parents and caregivers to know everything that kids are viewing or downloading.
• A 2007 study found that only 40 percent of Americans understood the serious legal consequences associated with the distribution of copyrighted content.  That compares with the 78 percent who understood the serious legal consequences of shoplifting a DVD from the local video store.³ 

Distributing Copyrighted Content Harms the Economy: A comprehensive study found that $58 billion is lost to the U.S. economy annually due to the distribution of copyrighted content, including more than 373,000 lost American jobs, $16 billion in lost employee earnings, and $3 billion in badly needed federal, state and local governments’ tax revenue.⁴

File Sharing Often Means Viruses: Viruses, spyware and malware are often the consequences of downloading copyrighted movies and music. 

• One recent study by McAfee found a 40 percent increase in the number of websites delivering infected MP3 files in one year as well as a proliferation of sites seemingly built with the sole purpose of committing cybercrime (including identity theft) against individuals looking for MP3 files online. 
• In fact, 12 percent of all known sites that distribute unauthorized content are actively distributing malware to users who download such content.
• Seven percent of the websites distributing unauthorized content have associations with known cybercrime organizations.⁵

Click here to download our flyer on how file sharing hurts the creative industry.

1. Inadvertent file sharing over Peer-to-Peer Network: Hearing Before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, (Serial 111-25) 111th Cong. (2009).
2. Foehr, Ulla, Rideout, Victoria, and Roberts, Donald. Generation M2, Media in the Lives of 8- to 18- Year-Olds. Kaiser Family Foundation.
3. Ackerman, David and Yigit, Kaan.Movie File-Sharing Booming. Solutions Research Group.
4. Siwek,  Stephen E.,The True Cost of Piracy to the U.S. Economy, report for the Institute for Policy Innovation, Oct. 2007.
5. Greve, Paula. Digital Music and Movies Report, the true cost of free entertainment, McAfee, (August 25, 2010): 14.