Verizon File-Sharing Allowed Copyright Theft, Record Labels Say

Verizon encouraged a “staggering” amount of copyright infringement through its file-sharing network, record labels said in a federal suit.

Labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music, said Verizon Communications Inc. “contributed to and profited from pervasive copyright infringement by its subscribers” over a peer-to-peer file-sharing system, according to the complaint filed Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

At the core of the alleged infringement is the “P2P” system BitTorrent, which allows users to illegally download, copy, and distribute copyrighted sound recordings, the complaint said. File-sharing on platforms like BitTorrent ...