Can Anyone Sink the Pirate Ships?

Piracy has changed the way people and legal organizations view the internet.  From the very beginning, and even the precursors to, the internet was always in favor of sharing content and ideas.  Piracy of the internet has become more complex when creating legislation because of torrents.  Torrents are files downloaded of the internet that locate files on someone's computer to download.  Legislation of piracy has been a long battle because the sites are not hosting the actual file to be downloaded; they are acting as middle men in the search for free content. 

John Biggs is his article "Avast, Me Hearties: How The Pirate Bay Changed The Way We Steal" writes "There are ways to make things uncomfortable for content sharers and there are ways to arrest people for soliciting pirated content, but in the vast panoply of the internet there's very little chance any dedicated enforcement agency can perform its duties with any effectiveness" (Bigg).  Many governments and other private organizations have tried to shut down torrenting sites, but all have failed.  In this article on Torrent Freak, Japan has created a new law that gives the government the power to fine or arrest someone if the download illegal content.  No longer are we the anonymous viewers of the internet; the governments and other organizations like the MPAA want the internet to be monitored.    Is this a new wave of legislation going after the simple user?  Lawsuits in the past have been waged against the simple user before, and the cost to them was very high.  Attacking the simple down-loaders, while not directly confronting the pirate websites, is a better tactic to stop piracy.  As torrent file loophole will keep these sites alive indefinitely, attacking the users will be an easier way to instil fear into the simple torrenter.  The problem with this tactic in the U.S. is that unlawful searches are illegal, and your computer is private property.  Also, if a large amount of people were caught torrenting, then the legal system would be overflowing with court cases. 

Piracy is an unsinkable ship; there is no effective legal system to stop it.  The internet has created a new band of thieves: the average internet user.