The Heterogeneous Engineering of Music Piracy: Applying Actor-Network Theory to Internet-Based Wrongdoing Sameer Hinduja Actor-network theory, as developed within the sociology of science and technology, views any phenomenon as the product or effect of a patterned network of heterogeneous elements. This paper applies such a paradigmatic perspective to the phenomenon of music piracy, in an attempt to underscore the relevance of studying and analyzing each of the components (and their interrelation- ships) that make up the reality of that behavior. Heterogeneity implies not only the social but also the technical, economic, political, organizational, informational, contextual, and perceptual. Each of these components merit attention and response if progress is to be made in understanding and responding to digital piracy and possibly other forms of Internet-based wrongdoing. KEY WORDS: actor-network theory, ANT, intellectual property theft, Internet, music piracy, deviance, criminology Introduction Two fundamental conceptual positions appear well entrenched in social science, and perhaps even define and demarcate the standardized way in which research problems are approached when attempting to understand deviance and crime. First is the disproportionate focus on individual, interpersonal, and socio- structural elements. Indeed, the reader may be wondering, “What other predic- tors of wrongdoing could there possibly be?” Such a reflexive thought epitomizes the issue. Second, social science scholars throughout recent history have vacillated between the determinate role of agency as compared to structure. Certain time periods have been characterized by a greater acceptance of one or the other, depending on the social and political consensus at the time, but perceptions and policy surrounding deviance and crime have generally been reflective of either agency or structure as causal influences. These points are further presented below to provide the backdrop for the introduction of a novel theoretical approach to studying wrongdoing, and for developing appropriate and fruitful policy solutions. Policy & Internet, Vol. 4, No. 3-4, 2012 229 1944-2866 # 2012 Policy Studies Organization Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, and 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ.