Is Torrenting Illegal in the US?

In essence, torrenting is legal in the US and most other countries. As a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing method, torrents transfer data between “peers” without needing a central server.

However, since its inception in 2001, torrents have become almost synonymous with piracy. With that, torrenting becomes illegal when the files shared are copyrighted material.

In this article, we will discuss what happens when you are caught torrenting copyrighted content and how VPNs can help.

The Prohibition of Torrenting Copyrighted Content

Copyright laws are in effect to protect copyright holders and creators from the illegal use and distribution of their work.

For example, 1998’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) addresses the relationship between copyright and the Internet.

The DMCA updates the US copyright law to deal with digital content. Here are its three major updates:

• Protecting online service providers (such as internet service providers) if their users engage in copyright infringement and establishing the notice-and-takedown system
• Legal protection against unauthorized access to copyrighted materials – as in the case of “cracking” of software or circumventing account restrictions on streaming sites
• Protection against unlawful misrepresentation of copyright information like names of authors or copyright holders and titles of works

Torrenting copyrighted material is a form of “distribution.” This is illegal since distribution is an exclusive right of the copyright holder.

How about the downloading of copyrighted materials for personal use? Let’s answer that in the next section. 

Downloading Copyrighted Material for Personal Use

Individual downloaders are not safe from copyright infringement laws with the enactment of the No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act). It prohibits downloading of copyrighted files even without aiming for monetary or commercial benefits.

Before the NET Act was enacted in 1998, infringement must be for “commercial advantage or private financial gain.” Merely uploading or downloading files doesn’t fall into that criteria.

With the NET Act, the threshold for criminal liability settles to “more than $1000 worth of retail value” for infringed materials within 180 days.

This applies whether the materials were used for profit or not. It also specifies the penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment.

What Happens When You Are Caught Torrenting in the US?

In 2020, the US had the highest number of visits to media piracy sites worldwide, with around 12.5 billion visits.

Considering that the US has relatively stricter policies in terms of copyright and has more capacity to enforce policies, you can get in trouble when you’re caught torrenting illegal content.

The possibility of getting caught torrenting exists as anti-piracy campaigns are enforced to counteract this trend.

Now, let’s discuss how you are going to get caught.

• Copyright Trolls

Copyright trolls are third-party companies that do business by monitoring torrenters who illegally download copyrighted content. They monitor public trackers to look for individual IP addresses, then inform the ISPs hosting these IPs.

Production companies usually hire them to sniff out pirates on their behalf. They sometimes join torrenting “swarms” to pick out IP addresses.

• ISP Monitoring

Internet service providers (ISPs) store users’ traffic data for some time. Comcast maintains their users’ activity records for 6 months, while AT&T stores them for a year. 

Technically, all your online activities are laid bare to ISPs, except when you use a VPN. Without the added protection of one, downloading illegal torrents could lead to a copyright infringement notice from your ISP.

• Copyright Infringement Notices

If you’re caught torrenting copyrighted files, you’ll receive a warning in the form of a copyright infringement notice from your ISP.

Based on the US laws, an IP address is not a person, but the notice will be addressed to the primary account holder.

After a few warnings (3 to 6 “strikes” depending on the ISP), given that you didn’t follow them, additional actions can be expected, such as:

• Throttling your internet connection speed to limit your downloading capacity
• Banning you from the service
• The copyright holder proceeds to legal actions.

In case of a lawsuit, you should immediately seek legal advice. You can get help from volunteer organizations with expertise in these cases, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Staying Safe While Torrenting

File sharing through torrents doesn’t rely on a central server, but being decentralized doesn’t mean complete anonymity. Torrent files from public tracker websites like PirateBay are unsafe from the prying eyes of ISPs and copyright trolls.

The safest way to maintain anonymity while torrenting is through a VPN or virtual private network. It hides your IP address through its servers and encrypts your traffic making it unrecognizable to your ISP.

Let’s look at some VPNs you can use for safe torrenting in the next section.

Best VPNs for Torrenting

Not all VPNs perform the same. Some VPNs may suit you better, depending on your priorities when torrenting.

We’ve listed the VPNs with the highest speed performance, optimized servers for torrenting, and robust encryption. These VPNs are:

While there are several VPNs that you can get for free, the added perks of a paid VPN service is definitely worth the minimal fee you need to shell out.

The Bottom Line

Torrents are just a means to an end. There are many cases where torrents are used legally, such as distributing public domain media like old books and movies or anything without copyright.

P2P decentralized file sharing is more economical than maintaining centralized servers. Independent creators or even companies often use it to distribute updates.

Whatever torrent use you intend, playing it safe using a trusted VPN is highly recommended.