Pirating my own digital content...

Seeing as though this blog seems to resolve around political and technology issues, I figured I'd post an answer to my ethics assignment:

Q: What are your views on (a) software piracy and (b) downloading music?

A: Ever since the sudden rise of a little software program known as "Napster" in the mid-90s, internet-based piracy has made headlines across the globe. Unlike conventional theft, which is generally viewed as illegal, digital piracy is generally regarded in student circles as an activity that is both acceptable and beneficial. This discrepancy raises the obvious question as to whether or not a difference exists between a physical object and digital data. To put things mildly, there is no difference—theft is still theft. Stealing and copying the data composed in software and mp3s is no different than stealing a BMW from a mall parking lot. In both cases, a bystander is likely to lose money because of it.

If we assume that, in fact, there is no difference between digital and physical property, then further questions need to be raised as to why the former is more prevalent. After all, if physical theft were to ever reach the extreme levels of internet piracy, then it would be safe to say that any object that we'd be lucky enough to have in our possession wouldn’t last for long. The difference, then, lies in how the two activities are enforced. On one hand, stealing a BMW from a mall parking lot is bound to attract the attention of local law enforcement. Conversely, the millions of songs being downloaded off of the internet each day aren’t likely to result in any punishment at all. Even if internet piracy was to start being seriously punished, then it is safe to say that most of the McMaster student body would end up with criminal records—not a likely scenario. The fact of the matter is, both the copying of proprietary software and the downloading of music have both become "acceptable" in the eyes of the public, even though the debate continues to rage on as to whether or not it is ethical.

If stemming the tide of digital piracy via enforcement is out of the question, then the perceptions of the public need to be changed instead. A high level of apathy currently exists towards both the music industry and major software companies among university-aged students. It is perceived that much of the content released by these industries is of a low quality, and pirating these products is therefore justified. In the case of software, many companies are selling products, such as Microsoft's Windows XP, for hundreds of dollars. Instead of paying for the software, many students copy the operating system illegally, only to find that the product is filled with bugs and security flaws, which further reinforces their original perception. The music industry is currently experiencing a similar phenomenon, whereby it is perceived that many of the artists being signed to record labels are of mediocre talent. As such, a general trend among the university crowd has emerged whereby the digital content is first downloaded or copied illegally, and then purchased if it meets a specified “quality benchmark”. Therefore, if piracy were to be completely eliminated, it is unlikely that the software and record industry would see any major sales gains, as the apathy against these industries would continue to flourish.

As such, even though digital piracy is certainly an unethical activity, it is very difficult to feel any sympathy towards those industries being victimized. While products released in the "physical" world can be scrutinized first-hand, the quality of digital content and software is based on a blind trust towards the brand and product. If the perceptions towards digital piracy are to be changed, then this trust between producer and consumer needs to be restored.