Ethics Supplementary Material (Guen Han)

The following is extra background information on each of the ethical considerations Apple must make about a partnership with BitTorrent.

First, Apple must evaluate whether it is right to force customers to use up all their computing resources and bandwidth to download a product from iTunes with potentially no compensation, as well as the impact this may have on business [1].

Users with BitTorrent have the ability to download files quickly because uploading is automatically built into the BitTorrent system [1]. Because of this, running BitTorrent can take up a vast percentage of computing resources and available bandwidth. Sometimes, as company experiments have shown, it is enough so that users cannot engage in common applications, like surf the Internet or play online games, while downloading a file with BitTorrent. As a result, customers may prefer to use another client besides BitTorrent or turn off the peer-to-peer option so they may use their computers while their file is downloading.

Second, Apple must evaluate whether customers should be forced to download their purchase with BitTorrent or whether the company should offer 1) an alternative client or 2) an option that disables all P2P features at the risk of slower downloads [1].

Even though BitTorrent is lauded for the rapidity of its downloads, this is not always the case. The speed at which a file downloads depends on factors such as number of peers and when the file is posted as opposed to when it was first aired or released [1]. In fact, company experiments show that certain files downloaded on BitTorrent can be slower than if they were downloaded on current Apple software. For this reason, customers may not prefer the BitTorrent client for their particular download. This is especially the case for older or less popular files, since files are dependent upon a large number of peers in order to download quickly [1].

Third, Apple should evaluate whether it should broaden its offerings to other countries, especially since BitTorrent is a universal downloading client [2, 3, 1].

The BitTorrent technology is universal. This means that anyone from anywhere in the world can download BitTorrent and use it to share files. Because of this, oftentimes, BitTorrent users will be downloading pieces of a file from people from various locations around the globe, such as Japan, Germany, Canada, and France [2]. However, iTunes purchases are only offered to customers in select countries [3]. It is in Apple’s business interest to offer the Store to all countries, especially since they are dependent on more peers for speedier downloads [1].

Fourth, Apple must consider whether it is right to use non-customers to ensure speedy downloads without giving them any benefit, as well as how movie and production companies will feel about this business method [1, 4].

Apple cannot control the speed at which their products download with the BitTorrent client. As a result, certain files may download slowly, which would frustrate their customer base and hurt their business. One way Apple could solve this issue is to allow non-customers to keep pieces of the files on their computer to ensure speedy downloads to buyers [1]. However, this may not be fair to the non-customers, especially if they do not gain any compensation for helping Apple. Moreover, movie and production companies will not like having pieces of their media stored on many computers. Even if the files are wrapped in DRM technology, users can break the DRM, and piracy may only proliferate [4].

Fifth, Apple must evaluate how it can ethically balance demands from both users and movie/production companies when it comes to DRM technologies [5, 6, 7, 8].

Apple protects products purchased through iTunes with DRM like Fairplay [5]. However, some argue that DRM technology restrict fair use rights. Because of this, an internal study shows that only 34% of BitTorrent’s current clientele would willingly switch to a legal option for obtaining its movies [6]. Users from the remaining percentage say they want to be able to do anything they want with their purchased file, like play their movies on any device, like computer or DVD player, and burn their own DVDs [7]. DRM would prevent this, and therefore, these users prefer to continue obtaining their files illegally because it allows total ownership and control. However, movie companies require Apple to employ DRM technology to protect the files if Apple wishes to license agreements with them [8].

Sixth, Apple must decide whether it is ethical to employ technology to track their customers, and how this will affect the privacy of their customer base [9, 10].

In order to allow a customer to download iTunes Store files, Apple must obtain his/her IP address so the file is released appropriately. Similarly, BitTorrent works by employing trackers that coordinate BitTorrent clients who are identified by their IP address [9]. However, Apple may feel the need to gather further information once it employs the BitTorrent technology—especially given BitTorrent’s capacity for piracy—as a way to guarantee that their users are not using the movies illegally. This is especially relevant because there will be someone who will be able to break the DRM of their products [10].

Seventh, Apple must consider what rights they have over BitTorrent and how much control they can have over the client [2].

BitTorrent is an open source technology, and thus, anyone can modify and distribute it [2]. This could potentially pose several problems for Apple. The fact that the source code is open to the public may lead to security issues in face of hackers armed with knowledge. Because of this, Apple may want to attempt to centralize BitTorrent so they have more control over the software in order to prevent piracy. However, this would change the nature of BitTorrent, and Apple must keep in mind that BitTorrent is used by millions of other non-customers too.

References:

[1] S. Schiesel, “File Sharing’s New Face,” The New York Times, February 12, 2004. [Online]. Available: http://tech2.nytimes.com/mem/technology/techreview.html?res=9805E2DE133AF931A25751C0A9629C8B63. [Accessed: February 26, 2007].

[2] “What is BitTorrent?,” BitTorrent, March 2007. [Online]. Available: http://www.bittorrent.com/what-is-bittorrent. [Accessed: March 3, 2007].

[3] “iTunes 7,” Apple, March 2007. [Online]. Available: http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/. [Accessed: March 3, 2007].

[4] L. Manly and J. Markoff, “Television; Steal This Show,” The New York Times, January 30, 2005. [Online]. Available: http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40E17FB3D5F0C738FDDA80894DD404482. [Accessed: February 26, 2007].

[5] R. Singel, “The Year of Living DRMishly,” Wired, January 24, 2006. [Online]. Available: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,70049-0.html. [Accessed: March 3, 2007].

[6] B. Stone, “Software Exploited by Pirates Goes to Work for Hollywood,” The New York Times, February 25, 2007. [Online]. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/technology/25bit.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin. [Accessed: February 27, 2007].

[7] S. Hansell, “Media; Forget the Bootleg, Just Download the Movie Legally,” The New York Times, July 4, 2005. [Online]. Available: http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40B11F63A5E0C778CDDAE0894DD404482. [Accessed: February 26, 2007].

[8] S. Lohr, “Keeping Moviegoers Away From the Dark Side,” The New York Times, June 18, 2005. [Online]. Available: http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FA0E15FC3E5F0C7B8DDDAF0894DD404482. [Accessed: February 26, 2007].

[9] B. Dessent, “Brian’s BitTorrent FAQ and Guide,” www.dessent.net, October 5, 2003, . [Online]. Available: http://www.dessent.net/btfaq/#terms. [Accessed: March 3, 2007].

[10] B. Stone, “A DVD Copy Protection Is Overcome by Hackers,” The New York Times, January 17, 2007. [Online]. Available: http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F50611F73B540C748DDDA80894DF404482. [Accessed: February 26, 2007].