US Internet piracy is on the decline

Internet piracy is on the decline in the U.S., according to new research from NPD Group. Internet piracy is on the decline in the U.S., according to new research from NPD Group. The percentage of the U.S. Internet population using a P2P file-sharing service to download music has decreased from 16% (28 million users) at the end of 2007, to 9% (16 million users) in the fourth quarter of 2010 — the very quarter that LimeWire was forced to shut down its file-sharing service. In the previous quarter , a federal judge ruled against LimeWire in a copyright infringement case versus the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Between Q4 2007 and Q4 2010, the average number of music files downloaded from P2P networks also dropped from 35 tracks per person to 18 tracks, NPD found.