put, the Internet is too expansive to be governed by conventional laws. “The Web offers anonymity and a buffer from getting caught.” (Sullivan) If a major crime has been committed, such as Vladimir Levin’s theft of $10 million dollars, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is competent enough to track down the criminal and put him or her behind bars. But what of the case of simple copyright violation? Is it really feasible to drag out some FBI agents to track down some high school child who downloads Metallica off Napster?“The Internet needs…officers on the Internet [who] would act as the liaison between the online public and law enforcement agencies, policing the Internet in much the same way they police the streets.” (Sullivan) Just as cities need beat officers to stop minor crimes and enforce the law, online communities need an equivalent to enforce the law online.But, since the law is virtually nonexistent online, people are free to do what they want, which includes downloading MP3s for free. Perhaps if the Internet did have beat officers regularly checking out the latest programs and technologies, Napster would not have gone so long unchecked, growing slowly out of hand. Even if “law enforcement is springing into action to fight Internet crime” (Sullivan), they are not springing nearly fast enough. How many more lawsuits will it take to convince the government that a police presence is required on the Internet?It may not matter whether Napster survives its lawsuit or not, since dozens of similar programs are rising to take its place. Like a digital hydra, if one program is slain, two or more will grow to take its place. These programs are also attempting to correct the unintentional error made by Napster’s creator – a centralized server system. Such a system allows Napster to easily be shut down. Programs like Gnutella and FreeNet, though, have a decentral...
