You would think the Palestinians have enough problems without getting mixed up in the peer-to-peer online file swapping wars. But who says life in the West Bank is all intafada? Not Earthstation 5, a file-swapping network formed in the Jenin refugee camp and, in the words of CNET.com, all but "daring record labels and movie studios to turn their piracy hunting into an international incident."
Earthstation 5 "is serving as a new test case for the ability of high-tech security measures and international borders to preserve privacy on the Net," CNET said August 15, and at a time when older P2P networks like Kazaa, Grokster, Morpheus, and others are trying in various ways to remake themselves into "legitimate technology companies" while warding off, among other things, the Recording Industry Association of America's subpoena-and-strongarm campaign against P2Pers.
"We're in Palestine, in a refugee camp," said Earthstation 5 co-founder Ras Kabir to CNET. "There aren't too many process servers that are going to be coming into the Jenin refugee camp. We'll welcome them if they do."
As it happens, Earthstation 5 bears a homepage looking like something right out of a Star Trek opening credit sequence, a "Chronicles" first page which rolls out a flashing graphic saying "Warning, Earthlings: The Next Revolution in P2P File Sharing Is Upon You. Resistance is Futile," and a company information page that suggests this group hasn't anything to do with intafada or Palestinian politics and everything to do with a mutual love for music however they can get it online.
And while the West Bank, under governing control of the Palestinian Authority, has reportedly strong copyright protection for Palestinian works, it doesn't have similar protection for works created outside the PA's authority.
"Our group is made up of many people, Jordanians, Palestinians, Indians, Americans, Russians and Israelis," their statement says on that page. "Some of us are Jewish, some Christians, some Hindus and other of us are Muslim. Believe it or not, we all love and respect each other. We all work and play together. Our families on many occasions eat at the same dinner table. We trust each other and are very close friends with each other. As a group, the most important thing in our life is our children, our families and love ones and of course our friends."
Earthstation 5 also claims itself spyware, adware, and popup free, a problem often dogging the established P2P networks. It also claims to be able to penetrate firewalls, reject blocking by Internet service providers, and keep its traffic actual or alleged from being scanned or monitored. "The agents of the Evil Empire will be unable to effectively examine traffic at a central router to easily pinpoint ES5 traffic," ES5 says on site. "To do so will require an enormous amount of time, money and effort."
The network also offers translations into 28 languages, online text and video chat, dating services, user forums, and even a claimed free international or domestic telephony service, according to the "Chronicles" section. CNET says the planning began two years ago, when Kabir and his brother watched Napster winding down after a long legal battle, conceived of their own P2P network, and worked on obtaining financial backing which they got, in due course, from investors in Israel, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, among other places.
ES5 isn't the only so-called "new generation" P2P network trumpeting its well-secured anonymity and looking to throw down a gauntlet to the P2P hunters. Similar networks, CNET said, include Blubster and Filetopia. But those in the P2P hunt, like the RIAA, think these new mavericks can keep their essential anonymities for only so long.
"We have yet to see a P2P network where we have not been able to target individuals who are infringers," said RIAA senior vice president Matt Oppenheim to CNET. "This is marketing hype of the worst kind. It is playing on the fears of others, encouraging them to engage in behavior that will get them into a boatload of trouble."
Considering their point of origin, not to mention their apparent reaching out to people across the geopolitical divides, even between Israelis and Palestinians, a boatload of trouble isn't exactly unknown to ES5's makers and backers.
