Hollywood Congressman Howard Berman has proposed legislation that would effectively shut down peer-to-peer networks. His proposal calls for "technological self-help measures" such as interdiction, redirection, decoys, spoofing and file-blocking. This sort of action is a blatant declaration of cyberwarfare against consumers.
The battle over technology vs. content is nothing new. While it is natural to resist change, it is necessary for growth. This ongoing battle is best described in relation to the Betamax lawsuit in the 1980s in which two movie studios filed a lawsuit hoping to stop the manufacturing and distribution of Sony Betamax VCRs.
In fact, Jack Valenti, who heads the Motion Picture Association of America, went so far as to declare that "the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston Strangler is to the woman home alone." The Supreme Court sided with Sony. Not only did the sales of VCR boom, but a flood of new revenue streams for Hollywood was created.
In the 1940s, when radio was still considered a technological innovation by many American consumers, copyright holders were not being paid but consumers were nonetheless able to enjoy music for free. This technology first was used in homes and offices and eventually migrated to a mobile device: the automobile--not too different from digital music's route from desktops to MP3 players.