Are Porn Downloaders the Most ‘At Risk’ for Being Fined?

We’ve talked a fair bit about file-sharing on the site before and the repercussions it can hold, but in all we’ve discussed, it’s usually on the subject of music or movies. As it seems, though, it looks like those who really should be watching their backs are those who download pornography, as those cases seem to be far more successful.

In the past two weeks, almost 17,000 people were the target of a single lawyer, Kenneth J. Ford, for the downloading of Teen Anal Nightmare 2 and Batman XXX: A Porn Parody. As Ars Technica notes, the RIAA as a comparison sued 18,000 people in five years. I don’t know about you, but one type of content looks to hold a much higher chance of being caught.

Over the past two years, I learned of two friends who were caught downloading such classy materials, and both paid a minor fine ($300 – $500) for their actions. By contrast, I don’t know a single person who was ever targeted by the RIAA. It’s natural to believe that there are a lot more people who download music and movies than pornography, which makes the chance of being caught even greater.

One thing I’m not sure of is whether or not people have ever been targeted outside of the US, for either pornography or any other type of content, with the lawsuit originating there. Being in Canada, I simply haven’t heard of a case happening up here before. It wouldn’t surprise me to see that change in the future, the way things go.

At a “content protection retreat” a few weeks ago, the pornography industry announced its plan to “significantly reduce digital piracy of adult content and to effectively drive those who engage in adult content piracy completely underground by January 2012.” Although several studios take issue with Ford’s approach, it’s clear that plenty have no problem with it.