Informed P2P User Act Warns About the Risks of File Sharing

Yesterday, in an attempt to prove the awareness they have come to with regard to the possible privacy and security dangers popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing applications may involve, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), together with Congressman John Barrow (D-GA) and Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee Joe Barton (R-TX), put forward the Informed P2P User Act, H.R. 7176, intended to bring to the attention of file sharing lovers the high privacy and security risks related to P2P clients.

"Most people don´t realize that when they connect to a peer-to-peer network, files on their computer – including highly personal information such as tax returns and medical records – could be available to millions of other users on the network," highlighted Bono Mack. "Users deserve to know – in fair and simple terms – about this potential risk to their private information. This bill will empower individual computer users by making them aware and keep them from inadvertently sharing their private personal information."

Furthermore, Mack says that besides the aforementioned risks, P2P networks are often targeted by the industry due to the fact they allow users to share unauthorized content over the Web. The danger expands with P2P software being used as means to install "spyware" or "adware" spread viruses, worms, and other malicious computer files.