Illegal file sharing rife

2008-12-17 22:24

Stockholm - Nearly 700 000 Swedes regularly used peer-to-peer file-sharing* programmes at the beginning of 2008, 38% of young men engaging in such often illegal internet activities, according to a study published on Wednesday.

"More than a third of all men aged 16 to 24 used a peer-to-peer file-sharing programme during the first quarter of 2008," Statistics Sweden said in a report on internet use.

"Among all surveyed ages the corresponding proportion is approximately one out of 10," it added.

Sweden, which has about nine million people, counted over 685 100 peer-to-peer file sharers during the first three months of the year, according to the study, which was based on a poll of 3 837 people between April 7 and June 9.

"The number of women using peer-to-peer file sharing is less than half than that of men," the statistics agency said, adding that among women aged 65 to 74 there were no users of the programmes.

The report did not provide comparative figures on peer-to-peer file sharing in other countries, but did say Sweden ranks second after Norway for internet use in Europe.

Crackdown

Sweden, which is home to The Pirate Bay - one of the world's most popular websites for illegal downloading of films, music and computer games - recently began cracking down on illegal file sharing amid charges that it had become a centre for internet piracy.

The Swedish government has proposed a new law based on the European Union's Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), that would make it easier to track people who illegally share copyrighted material on the internet.

The law, which is expected to go into effect on April 1 will oblige internet service providers to hand over the IP addresses of computers used for illegal downloads, allowing copyright holders to sue illegal file sharers.

* File sharing refers to the providing and receiving of digital files over a network, usually following the peer-to-peer (P2P) model, where the files are stored on and served by personal computers of the users. - Wikipedia

- AFP