Internet and Surveillance

8   Disciplining the Consumer

File-Sharers under the Watchful Eye of the Music Industry

David Arditi

8.1. INTRODUCTION

There has been a considerable amount of discussion over the past decade about the legality of downloading music.¹ Copyright and intellectual property have been at the centre of this debate, but few scholars have set aside the legal questions to consider the timing of file-sharing lawsuits and the mechanisms deployed to find and prosecute downloaders. Understanding the mechanisms and timing of file-sharing lawsuits can point to structural political-economic changes in the way people are encouraged to consume. By using surveillance on the Internet, the major players in the music industry have successfully re-established the dominance ...