Kazaa and Grokster Shouldn’t Get Off Free

Re “Record Labels Lose Court Case on Privacy,” Dec. 20: Aren’t the federal courts overlooking something here? Why can’t the record companies seek compensation from file-sharing networks like Kazaa and Grokster?

True, they aren’t storing anything on their own servers; in addition, they can’t be held responsible if the majority of their users choose to swap music files and violate copyright laws. However, file-sharing services do benefit financially from illegal file swapping.

Just like magazine publishers, they can command higher fees from advertisers based on the volume of traffic running over their networks. If the bulk of that traffic is illegal, shouldn’t they be made to bear some of the responsibility for reimbursing record companies?

Bill Robertson

Santa Barbara