STUDY: Only 1% of BitTorrent Files are "Non-Infringing"

February 2, 2010

Princeton senior investigates what kinds of files are available on mainline public BitTorrent tracker sites.
We all know BitTorrent is currently probably the most popular way for people to share files online, but not clear is the type and nature of those files. Sauhard Sahi, a Princeton senior, decided to answer these questions.

“Sauhard chose a (uniform) random sample of files available via the trackerless variant of BitTorrent, using the Mainline DHT,” reads a description of his efforts. “The sample comprised 1021 files. He classified the files in the sample by file type, language, and apparent copyright status.”

First are the results about the types of files available. Note that they only surveyed the Mainline trackerless BitTorrent system and did not take number of downloads into consideration, meaning that some may have never been downloaded, only that they were available.

The breakdown:

Sauhard also assessed the nature of the files, copyright-infringing or non-copyright infringing. For this they made “judgment calls” based on whether the files appeared to be (1) in the public domain, (2) freely available through legitimate channels, or (3) user-generated content.

He found that all of the 476 movies or TV shows in the sample were infringing, as were 141 of the 148 files in the games and software category. Of the 145 porn files one claimed to be an amateur video, and it was “given the benefit of the doubt as likely non-infringing.” As for the 98 music trackers, nearly all were likely infringing.

Some 13 of the fifteen files in the books/guides category were also likely copyright-infringing.

Moreover, using these standards he found that a startling 99% of all files were copyright-infringing!

“This result should be interpreted with caution, as we may have missed some non-infringing files, and our sample is of files available, not files actually downloaded,” cautions Ed Felten, the instructor who oversaw Sauhard’s work. “Still, the result suggests strongly that copyright infringement is widespread among BitTorrent users.”

Copyright holders are going to love this one.