One of our goals here at the Project is to chronicle the social impact of the internet. We try in many of our studies to create policy-relevant research that charts the evolution and challenges of the public’s transition to an online world. At the same time, because we do not advocate policy outcomes, we are in a rare position to address what are often contentious issues in the political and commercial spheres without an agenda driving our work. It is sometimes the case that our findings are cited with equal fervor by antagonists in public policy disputes.

Thus, we were delighted to see that our research was used as a reference in several briefs in the MGM v. Grokster Supreme Court case. Some of our material was used to buttress the MGM side; and some was used by Grokster supporters.

Additionally, in his concurrence with the court, for which Justice Stevens and O’Connor joined, Justice Breyer repeatedly cites original research gathered by the Pew Internet & American Life Project about file-sharing and copyright issues. Read the full decision and concurring statements here.