On July 25th, 2002, nineteen United States Senators sent the following letter to United States Attorney General John Ashcroft asking that the U.S. Department Of Justice begin prosecuting file traders.

In response, Rafael Quezada has composed a second letter to be sent in response. If you support the views expressed in the response letter, please add your name to the list by submitting your information on the main page.

The original Senators' letter follows.

July 25,2002

The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General of the United States
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Ashcroft:

We are writing to urge that the U.S. Department of Justice vigilantly enforce intellectual property laws on the Internet to punish online theft of our copyrighted works and to deter such conduct. Such an effort is increasingly important as online theft of our nation's creative works is a growing threat to our culture and economy.

Over the past few years, we have witnessed a staggering increase in the amount of intellectual property pirated over the Internet through peer-to-peer systems. According to recent news reports, the six most popular peer-to-peer software programs have been downloaded by computer users over 140 million times. Research has also shown that at any one time there may be as many as 2 million users simultaneously utilizing any one of these services.

In order to stem this growing tide of massive piracy on the Internet, we urge the Department to utilize its powers to:

• Prosecute operators of peer-to-peer systems who intentionally facilitate mass piracy;
• Prosecute individuals who intentionally allow mass copying from their computer over peer-to-peer networks; and
• Create more Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIPs) units around the country with expanded authority to prosecute Internet piracy.

The copyright industries account for 5% of our gross domestic product. Increased criminal enforcement will ensure that this industry remains a driving factor for economic growth, and we ask that you make this a priority for the Department.

Sincerely,

Sen. Joseph Biden, Chairman
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Drugs
 
Rep. Lamar Smith, Chairman
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
 
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Chairman
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
  ;
Rep, Robert C. Scott, Ranking
Member House Judiciary Committee
 
Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee
 
Rep. Howard Coble, Chairman
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
 
Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Rep. Henry Hyde
Sen. Rick Santorurn
Rep. Bob Goodlatte
Sen. Gordon Smith
Rep. Robert Wexler
Rep. William L. Jenkins
Rep. Ed Bryant
Rep. Lindsey O. Graham
Rep. Adam B.Schiff
Rep. Ric Keller
Rep. Darrell Issa
Rep. Melissa Hart

cc: Daniel J. Bryant, Assistant Attorney General, Legislative Affairs Michael Chertoff, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division Martha Stensell-Gramm, Section Chief, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Criminal Division