Mark Andrews <ma...@isc.org> wrote: > > I suspect most file sharing site don't have illegal content. Most > would have some content that is there without the permission of the > copyright holder. These are different things.
<nitpick> "Without the permission of the copyright holder" _is_ contrary to statute, and thus 'against the law'. As such 'illegal' is _not_ an incorrect term to apply to the situation. It may not be a _criminal_ violation, but it is still proscribed by law. "Illegal" and "criminal" -- _these_ are different things. Junk faxing is illegal, Telemarketing calls to cell phones are illegal, Public distribution without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal. Except in special cases, none of those actions are _criminal_, but they are all violations of law, and thus _illegal_. Claiming that a thing is not 'illegal' if it is not 'criminal', is similar to asserting "it's not a crime if you don't get caught". </nitpick>
