He also claims that, despite the fact that the majority of users see the Internet as a digital platform and use it to share information, downloading any materials protected by copyright is a breach of law and is equally complicit in the stealing of intellectual property.

The change of the attitude is the result of the limited success the authorities have had so far in their campaign against uploaders.

In February, an unsuccessful attempt was made to shut down the most popular file sharing site, Torrents.Ru, which quickly resumed its work on a different address.

A week ago, a major file sharing web-site, Ifolder.ru, was shut down for distribution of child pornography – which again lasted for only a few days.

“I think the point is not in downloading, but in the uploading. Downloading is not a crime while uploading is,” Andrey Mikhailyuk, editor-in-chief of “Hardware” magazine, told RT.

“This is not about pointing fingers. I’d rather put the debate more in light of how we should prevent this from happening and how we should change the situation to make everyone happy,” Robert Farish, Director of IDC company specializing in IT market research and analysis, said.

“More of the emphasis should really be on the entertainment industry to look at how they deliver their product to customers in the digital age. All of the models they are working are pre-digital. As a result, we have a lot of these problems,” Farish told RT.

“On the Internet, people will always find a way of doing what they like to do,” he added.