Why did courts force Napster to stop operating?

Courts forced Napster to cease operations in 2001 following a successful injunction filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).1

The legal action was grounded in the principle that Napster facilitated widespread copyright infringement. While users argued that sharing files constituted fair use—contending that they had already paid for the music—the RIAA successfully argued that Napster enabled users to make unauthorized digital copies of copyrighted works available to thousands of others. Because Napster utilized a central server to index and facilitate these transfers, the service was held accountable for the resulting copyright piracy.23

By shutting down the service, the courts aimed to protect the intellectual property rights of artists and recording companies, whose revenue models were being fundamentally undermined by the free, unauthorized distribution of MP3 files. This legal intervention underscored the ethical necessity of respecting creators' rights and ensuring that digital distribution remains a lawful, compensated activity.12