The music industry shouldn't get too comfortable with its recent Supreme Court victory over Grokster. An Irish programmer announced at a computer security conference last week that he is developing a new peer-to-peer file trading system that would be virtually invisible to the prying eyes of government and corporations.

Promoting the idea of a "darknet," free-speech advocate Ian Clarke, 28, said he's developing a new version of his Freenet file-sharing system that will make it easier to trade digital information anonymously, in a bid to combat censorship and political repression — but not to necessarily violate copyrights — according to a report by The New York Times.

Clarke's announcement comes just a month after the Supreme Court ruled against P2P networks Grokster and StreamCast, deciding that their publishers can be held liable for copyright infringement as a result of using their products (see "File-Sharing Networks Can Be Liable For Copyright Infringements, Supreme Court Rules").

Clarke's new software — which he plans to release in a few months — differs from current open P2P networks, instead using a closed system that requires new users to be trusted by an existing member to enter into their "web of trust," keeping out those they don't know.

Though the new software will allow users to trade any kind of digital information they want securely, Clarke insists that his real goal is to help political dissidents in countries where computer networks are monitored by the government. He does admittedly dislike copyright laws and believes that his technology could create a world in which all information is freely exchanged. This is Clarke's second attempt at this kind of software, following his 2000 release of the original Freenet, which failed to catch on because it was harder to use than programs such as Grokster and LimeWire.

"The classic use for Freenet would be for a group of political dissidents in China, or even in the United States," Clarke said. It could, of course, also be used to trade movies, music, video games and other copyrighted software as well, he said, admitting, "It's an inevitable consequence of our design." And what if the anonymity provided by the software fell into the hands of terrorists intent on keeping their communications secret? Clarke said the benefits would still outweigh the potential harm.

"I think things like terrorism are the result of the absence of communication," he said.

Clarke isn't the only one looking to create closed P2P networks.

Computer-security researcher Ross Anderson is working with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a new P2P network that will also be unveiled in a few months. Like Clarke's, it is designed to resist censorship and allow for secure exchanges safe from monitoring.

Both developers will likely face opposition, which has already begun across the globe.

Japanese programmer Isamu Kaneko was arrested last year after two users were charged with sharing copyrighted material anonymously through his WinNY system. Also, the recording industry recently filed suit against users of Blubster, a Spanish P2P network that has privacy features.

Like the earlier P2P craze unleashed by the original version of Napster more than six years ago, darknets will likely be with us for a while, according to J. D. Lasica, author of "Darknet: Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation."

"Serious file traders have been gravitating toward them," he told the Times. "There is just this culture of freedom that people feel they're entitled to, and they don't want anyone looking over their shoulders."

For complete digital music coverage, check out the Digital Music Reports.