Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 23:29:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: belmonte@MIT.EDU (Matthew Belmonte)
To: CapuanoHR8@aol.com
Subject: oppose HR 2885, the Protecting Children from Peer-to-Peer Pornography Act

Dear Representative Capuano

I hope that you'll oppose H.R. 2885, the very misleadingly titled `Protecting
Children from Peer-to-Peer Pornography Act of 2003.'  Despite its title, this
bill is not about protecting children and it is not about pornography.  Rather,
it's about protecting the recording industry from the consequences of its own
failure to adapt to the online music market.

The recording industry currently is being harmed by illegal sharing of
copyrighted materials via peer-to-peer networks.  Courts have rightly ruled
that the parties liable for this copyright infringement are the people who use
peer-to-peer software to make illegal copies, and not the people who distribute
peer-to-peer software.  The software itself can be put to many legitimate uses.

The recording industry's solution to the legality of file-sharing software is
to lobby Congress to make such software illegal, or at least difficult to
obtain.  This is the real motive behind H.R. 2885.  As regards its potential to
expose children to pornography or to other objectionable material, peer-to-peer
file sharing software is no different than client-server software, such as a
web browser.  We don't place cumbersome restrictions on the distribution of web
browsers -- or for that matter, photocopiers, or pens, all of which can be used
to violate copyrights.  Neither, then, should we impose restrictions
specifically on peer-to-peer file sharing software.

Again, I hope that you'll oppose H.R. 2885, the Protecting Children from
Peer-to-Peer Pornography Act, a bill which would needlessly restrict the
sharing of legitimate materials on the Internet.

Matthew Belmonte
[address]