By Glenn Chapman
San Francisco - Internet rebels on Tuesday began testing a new weapon that threatens to scuttle efforts to stop illicit online music swapping.
Internet privacy activists at Freenet Project posted word on their website that they were looking for savvy programmers to test a refined version "darknet" software designed to keep file swappers anonymous.
Freenet's call for stealth software test pilots came slightly more than a month after the United States Supreme Court struck a blow for the entertainment industry by equating Internet sharing of music with "garden variety theft".
'I can assure you they will continue to refine their software' The court ruled that services, such as Grokster, that abet rogue swapping of music can be held accountable as accomplices.
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The decision was proclaimed a landmark victory by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"There will always be a degree of piracy online, as there is piracy on the street," said Jonathan Lamy of the RIAA.
"Our objective is to bring piracy under sufficient control where legitimate services can compete and flourish."
Hip technophiles tuned into life in Silicon Valley and San Francisco scoffed, saying file swappers would only get sneakier.
Freenet's new software was heralded as "scalable," which means it would enable large numbers of stealth users to freely share files online, Doug Tygar, a computer professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said.
Previous versions of secret file sharing software were seen as manageable by the recording industry because the programmes were unwieldy and limited in the numbers of people who could use them.
"Even if this version of Freenet doesn't met its goals, I can assure you they will continue to refine their software," Tygar said.
"It is just a matter of time before anonymous file sharing networks become available."
The recording industry will need to evolve to keep its grip on copyrighted material, Tygar said.
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