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Senate Bill Targets File Swapping Networks: Page 2 of 2

On the Senate floor, Hatch added that "it is illegal and immoral to induce or encourage children to commit crimes. Artists realize that adults who corrupt or exploit the innocence of children are the worst type of villains." He compared file-sharing networks to famous villains of literature and film, such as Fagin in "Oliver Twist" and the Child-Catcher in "Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang."

Reaction from file-sharing services was swift. P2P United, a group which represents several such services, including Morpheus and eDonkey, blasted the bill as "ill-defined, ill-devised, and the product of an unbelievably flawed legislative process."

The Senate has only 35 working days before the fall elections, so the chances of the bill passing this session are said to be slim.