Net traffic shows file-sharing undented

Found on New Scientist on Tuesday, 25 May 2004
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The threat of legal action and hefty fines has done little to stop internet users around the world trading music and video files, according to a new study of network traffic.

"There's been no decline in the number of people file-sharing," says Chris Colman, European managing director for Sandvine.

The company's research indicates that the proportion of total net traffic used for peer-to-peer sharing has declined only slightly in the US over the last year, from 70 to 65 per cent.

Furthermore, file-sharing in Europe has not dropped at all - it now accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of net traffic. And internet usage in both the US and Europe is still growing, meaning that file-sharing is growing overall.

However, Sandvine's study does reveal that many US file-traders have moved away from the most popular service, Kazaa. File-sharing traffic via Kazaa has dropped from 90 per cent of the total to just 20 per cent. Users in the US have shifted to alternative networks, in particular eDonkey.

Sharing is caring! Good to see that the greedy music industry cannot stop P2P. None of their plans work; no "education" (brainwashing), attacks (lawsuits) or continuous lies (about lost sales or decreased sharing).