Feds Target Internet Piracy Organizations

Yahoo! News reports The government announced Thursday an 11-nation crackdown on Internet piracy organizations responsible for stealing copies of the latest "Star Wars" film and other movies, games and software programs worth at least $50 million. FBI agents and investigators in the other nations conducted 90 searches, starting Wednesday, arresting four people, seizing hundreds of computers and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works. The Justice Department "is striking at the top of the copyright piracy supply chain — a distribution chain that provides the vast majority of illegal digital content now available online," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said. Called Operation Site Down, the crackdown involved undercover FBI operations run out of Chicago, San Francisco and Charlotte, N.C., and included help from authorities in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany,
Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

How about doing something useful, and go after spammers, virus writers, and adware / spyware companies

NYT reported For the last two weeks, Microsoft has been in talks to buy a private Silicon Valley company, a move that underscores just how eager Microsoft is to catch up with Google, the search and advertising giant. The company that Microsoft has pursued is controversial: Claria, an adware marketer formerly called Gator, and best known for its pop-up ads and software that tracks people visiting Web sites. The Gator adware has frequently been denounced by privacy advocates for its intrusiveness.

Well then, why not go after the ones Microsoft does not plan to buy?