File-sharing Software could Jeopardize National Security

A recently released report from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office suggests that networked file and music sharing could harm children and threaten national security. The 80 page November, 2006, report, entitled "Filesharing Programs and Technological Features to Induce Users to Share," can be found here.

"This report also reveals that these filesharing programs threaten more than just the copyrights that have made the United States the world’s leading creator and exporter of expression and innovation: They also pose a real and documented threat to the security of personal, corporate, and governmental data."

"But such condemnations just beg a more fundamental question: Why do children, grandparents, and poor single mothers end up sharing hundreds or thousands of infringing files inadvertently?"