Illegally Sharing Music Is Illegal
Grimmelmann makes a ridiculous argument in Peer-to-peer terrorism.
Comparing the MPAA to the FBI and arguing that the "Gestapo tactics" of the MPAA in tracking down those who steam creative property is equivalent to the CIA's hunt for terrorists in Afghanistan is a stretch to say the least. And at no point during his comparison point out that both terrorists and trading music and movies one doesn't own are both illegal acts (albeit on a completely different scale).
Grimmelmann sounds like a cranky college sophomore whose peeved it's harder to get free music. But the thing is, music isn't free. There are costs to produce it. It's a commodity.
It's also silly to criticize the MPAA or RIAA for developing techniques to hunt down those that illegally swap files. Those two associations do not have a monopoly on forensic networking. Software and techniques banks and vendors use to hunt down identity thieves can just as easily "be turned against the forces of democracy."
Unless of course Grimmelmann wants to give identity thieves a free pass, too.
Comparing the MPAA to the FBI and arguing that the "Gestapo tactics" of the MPAA in tracking down those who steam creative property is equivalent to the CIA's hunt for terrorists in Afghanistan is a stretch to say the least. And at no point during his comparison point out that both terrorists and trading music and movies one doesn't own are both illegal acts (albeit on a completely different scale).
Grimmelmann sounds like a cranky college sophomore whose peeved it's harder to get free music. But the thing is, music isn't free. There are costs to produce it. It's a commodity.
It's also silly to criticize the MPAA or RIAA for developing techniques to hunt down those that illegally swap files. Those two associations do not have a monopoly on forensic networking. Software and techniques banks and vendors use to hunt down identity thieves can just as easily "be turned against the forces of democracy."
Unless of course Grimmelmann wants to give identity thieves a free pass, too.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home