Surveyed in 2010, 42% of the world was guilty of illegal online piracy. More than 75% of computers in the world have at least one illegally downloaded application. $59 billion worth of software were downloaded illegally in 2010. 95% of all online music downloads are illegal. As a result, an average iPod contains $800 worth of pirated music. 70% of online users find nothing wrong in online piracy (go-gulf.com). Online piracy is a serious problem that many people do not pay any attention to and most importantly, are not aware of the gravity of this illegal activity that can ultimately lead to extreme consequences. So why do people illegally download applications online? Do they fully understand how online piracy can affect certain industries and jobs in the world?.
With the rapid rise of the internet and worldwide sharing of files in the 20th and 21st century, the rise of torrenting and online piracy also greatly peaked. One of the first major file sharing websites that began it all in the late 20th century was Napster. Active from 1999 to 2001, amateur computer users could easily download or share any song they wanted for free. At its highest point, Napster had over 80 million songs and approximately 25 million users around the entire world (piracy.web.unc.edu). Napster's success was short lived, however. As expected, on December 7, 1999, numerous top selling artists and their recording companies, along with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), filed official lawsuits against Napster for infringement of their copyrighted music. In July of 2001, Napster was forced to completely stop the sharing of illegally downloaded music without its users paying for it (cracked.com). This ongoing war with Napster and the RIAA marked the beginning of many laws and lawsuits against millions of online piracy websites around the world.