The amount of people using the Internet is virtually everyone. Many homes have personal computers that their children and families use to serf the Internet, check e-mail, and chat with friends. Millions of Internet users nationwide take part in downloading content off of peer-to-peer programs such as Kazaa, Grokster, and WinMX. Peer-to-peer programs enable users all over the world to share files off of their computers, no matter what it is. All the person needs to do is put the desired file or folder into the "My Shared" folder and millions of people can download it onto their computers free of charge, whether it is copyrighted or not. This act is highly favored by people since they can get practically anything they want for absolutely nothing. Many people download music, videos, programs, and images because they do not have to go out and buy the fifteen-dollar CD, twenty-dollar DVD, or three hundred dollar plus programs. Downloading can be examined in three areas: the amount downloaded, the amount of money involved, and the actual damage to the entertainment industry.
             The amount of music that is being downloaded is slowly dropping because of the lawsuits that the industries have filed against hundreds of people relating to the illegal download of music and other copyrighted material. "Analysts report that just one of the many peer-to-peer systems in operation is responsible for over 1.8 billion unauthorized downloads per month" (Rosen, 2002, pg. 1). With that being taken in February of 2002, recent surveys show that the amount of content downloaded is decreasing. On a survey taken in February of 2001, 29% of Internet users said that they sometimes downloaded media content onto their computer. That figure has dropped to only 14% surveyed from November 18 to December 14, which was released in early January of 2004 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and comScore Media Metrix, a web-tracking firm. The sur...