When the RIAA began its campaign against the online community in mid-2003, the main focus of its efforts was geared towards the once mighty FastTrack network. In an attempt to avoid any legal prosecution from sharing on FastTrack, many P2P users fled to networks such as BitTorrent. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that BitTorrent is becoming dangerous territory in the file-sharing world.

There is little doubt that BitTorrent has become on of the most resourceful and prolific communities in the file-sharing world. Using Torrent link sites such as SuprNova.org, one can search through an enormous index of Torrent links. With quick downloads (for newer files) and a wealth of information, BitTorrent has become one of the premier file-sharing networks.

Like many times in file-sharing's history, the more popular a network becomes, the greater emphasis copyright holders place on quelling any such community. In the past, the process was as simple as pulling the plug on vulnerable centralized (or at least networks with central authority) communities such as Napster, Scour, SongSpy and AudioGalaxy.

Today, most communities operate outside of the control of the network administration. Therefore, copyright holders are making a greater habit of pursuing individual users. Case in point of course being FastTrack (Kazaa, Grokster, iMesh, Kazaa Lite), however copyright holders seem to be zeroing in on BitTorrent.

Perhaps the saving grace of BitTorrent is the fact that music takes a back seat to movies and TV episodes, the mainstay of this network. While this has kept the RIAA and its "sue 'em all" campaign at bay, movie copyright holders have been increasingly active on this network. Broadband Reports.com, which maintains an excellent file-sharing news page, has been keeping tabs on this increased activity.

Considering the method in which BitTorrent takes advantage of ones upload and download bandwidth, the activity of an individual can be more easily monitored. The creator of BitTorrent, Bram Cohen, has many times stated that BitTorrent is not an adequate tool of piracy. BitTorrent makes any file-sharer stand out like a sore thumb, considering its utilization of upload bandwidth and lack of any identity-hiding features.

From BroadBand Reports.com:

"Many broadband users naively assumed that if they stopped using Kazaa and switched to Bit Torrent they'd be out of range of what they view as the great unblinking eye of Sauron - the RIAA. That simply hasn't been the case, as many peer-to-peer users slowly realize that while Bit Torrent is a revolutionary file trading client, it offers no better privacy than more traditional p2p distribution methods.