Web stats company Neilsen Net reckons illegal download services Kazaa and Morpheus has 15% fewer users last week after the Recording Industry Association of America threatened to sue heavy downloaders and file sharers. If true that means as many as a million less people used Kazaa in the second week of Kuly.
Neilsen Net's Greg Bloom told reporters: "With the negative publicity and threat of steep fines, some surfers appear to be backing off. However, with millions of loyal users, these applications aren't likely to go off-line in the near future."
Kazaa owners Sharman Networks weren't convinced though putting it down to normal fluctuations: "Aside from normal seasonal drops experienced on the internet, we regularly see fluctuations in the number of users online, and there are numerous factors that play a part in these cyclical changes, but they are rarely permanent."