Don't Ban the Technology

"Technologies don't infringe copyrights; people do," writes Berkman Center director John Palfrey in his op-ed, The Digital Copyright Crisis in today's Boston Globe. The piece addresses the recent MGM v. Grokster decision (pdf) and argues that the court's ruling was a victory for innovation in deciding that peer-to-peer networks are not liable for copyright violations of their users. This debate -- about whether the technology or its users are to blame for illegal activities -- is also a point of contention in the ongoing debates over the INDUCE Act. Palfrey argues that, rather than stifling the technology, we should "focus on giving people ways to enjoy digital entertainment and on becoming a more creative culture."