Last year, the movie “Fast Five” was downloaded 9.26 million times via BitTorrent, making the high-octane sequel the most pirated movie in 2011, according to blog TorrentFreak. By comparison, 2.06 million copies were sold after the action flick’s DVD release on Oct. 4.
Grappling with what they believe to be the loss of millions of dollars in revenue, filmmakers and their brethren in the music industry have thrown their weight behind bills in Congress designed to block the flow of pirated material online.
However, some — including many in the Boulder tech scene — fear that legislation designed to drive away illegal downloads could damage the very fabric of the Internet by giving the U.S. government the ability to block Americans from viewing foreign websites that contain — even by accident — copyrighted material.
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, who made millions through his efforts as an Internet entrepreneur, has joined the tech community in becoming a vocal opponent of the bills.
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