BitTorrent Ashwin Navin Interview

On Oct 19th, The Guardian posted an interview with Ashwin Navin, President and CEO of BitTorrent. This self-proclaimed creator of the BitTorrent business model floats through the interview walking on piracy eggshells....pfft.

Navin's ability to dance around questions like, " The judicial system in the US has taken a dim view of peer-to-peer networks - in fact, Grokster is out of business. Why is BitTorrent still around?" , make me wonder if this isn't just a face man. Consider this, who's the fall guy going to be since BitTorrent has incorporated and Brahm Cohen is striking deals with the likes of the MPAA? Navin answers politely, but dances as usual, assuming we're all idiots.

If your technology looks like it was designed for illegal purposes, you'll be held liable for it. It's kind of like the pornography standard, I can't define it but I know it when I see it and that is basically what the court handed down. From the beginning of BitTorrent, Bram vociferously discouraged the use of BitTorrent for piracy and warned users there is no anonymity.

The only reason the official BitTorrent company is still around is because they striked deals.  In no way have they "vociferously discouraged" piracy, other than instituting some very lackluster filter techniques. Essentially, signing deals with the devil will get you a seat to the right of the MPAA, of course it's hard to turn down a $1 million dollar contract.

It seems that no matter who the MPAA/RIAA works with they only suceed in clouding facts and confusing the consumer. We all remember the worm escapade that the RIAA knowingly added to their cds, but what about pricing structures. There is a fine line between greed and profit minded decisions, I think it's clear to the consumers what side of the line the MPAA is on and it's abundantly clear from what Navin has to say about legitimate pricing.

One of the things that seems to be proven is that consumers need a consistent pricing framework. The pricing needs to be commensurate with the value proposition of getting a digital download and so we are learning from others. We are shaping that up.

That's about as clear as mud, where do I sign up?

October 24, 2006 · Filed Under P2P

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