File Sharing: Useful but Easily Abused

     Today I will be writing a little bit about file sharing. File sharing is an incredibly useful, easy way to send files and data from a device to other ones. This can be done through email attachments and social networking sites that allow you to send files such as Facebook for small files, and torrent software like Utorrent through sites like Torlock or file hosting sites such as Rapidshare. I personally enjoy using Dropbox to transfer large amounts of data from one computer to another. Using these sites, a person can easily send photos, music, code, etc., to other people. Sounds reasonable enough right?

Download image from wired.co.uk

     However, many people are concerned about the use of file sharing to illegally share copyrighted material. This affects many businesses, including the film, music, and game industries. This is especially harmful to small companies that do not generate very much revenue, as they will lose a large percentage of their profit due to "pirating" of their software, but will harm larger companies a greater flat amount. For example, if I am a company who managed to sell 5 copies of a game and 5 copies get stolen through file sharing, I am losing 50% of my profit, but if I distribute a blockbuster movie that sells 500,000 videos and get 5000 stolen, even though I am only losing 1% of my profit, I am losing a greater amount of money. I believe that this shouldn't make file sharing illegal, however, as file sharing has great uses that are not illegal, such as . Also, studies show that small to medium range films actually benefit from file sharing because it is a form of advertising and more people will know it exists.  Don't get me wrong, I agree that the stealing of copyrighted material should be punished, but just because some people choose to use file sharing for malicious purposes doesn't mean that it should not be allowed. Imagine a time where you were not allowed to transfer files from any device to another. That would be a dark day indeed.