FTC lets Limewire off the hook

FORGOTTEN FILESHARING NETWORK Limewire finally managed to score a win after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that it will drop its investigation of the company.

Limewire has been in numerous run-ins with various regulatory bodies and the movie and music industry cartels, coming out worse every time, but now it seems that Limewire CEO George Searle received some good news in the post. The FTC said that, after concluding its investigation of users unwittingly sharing files using the Limewire client, it has decided that "we have determined not to recommend any further action by the Commission at this time".

The investigation centred on whether Limewire did enough to get security updates in the hands of users. While Searle and his firm were essentially let off this time, the FTC had stern words for him and other software peddlers, saying, "Consumers should not have to worry that one small mistake in configuring a software program such as Limewire might expose their tax returns, credit reports, and college loan applications to millions of people."

Apparently, during the course of the FTC's research it found that "consumers continue to inadvertently share sensitive documents via peer-to-peer software, either through Limewire or similar software applications". In that same research the FTC found it unnecessary to force security updates down Limewire users' throats. However the FTC still remains concerned that legacy versions of the Limewire client could lead to users sharing files that they had not intended to share.

It urged Limewire to educate users, advising them to move on from older versions of its client. As is typical in such regulatory statements, the FTC made clear that its decision to halt its investigation of Limewire was in no way "a determination that a violation of law did not occur". Still, Searle and the Limewire board must be breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Other software developers will also welcome the FTC’s decision. While commercial outfits push users to newer versions to generate revenue, smaller non-profit projects have less time or resources to constantly advertise the virtues of updates and patches. The FTC's stern wording should encourage, rather than force, software developers to incorporate easy software update mechanisms, helping to ensure that users will have better experiences. µ