AutoBio

In life we do millions of things that we don’t even really pay mind to, like brushing your teeth, reading a newspaper, buying coffee, and maybe even pirating music. That last example maybe only relevant to the young or technology literate but none the less it plays a role in a large portion of our society. I find it very interesting that even though it is illegal many people including me have no qualms about continuing to download unauthorized material; its much to easy and simple and the effect of our action is not being felt directly so we feel no guilt. Some of the more general reasons I have chosen to write about media piracy is that the RIAA is making a strong push to prevent or limit piracy, only to have it reach no ears. Most downloader’s do not take mind to the consequences they may face; they rather get the direct satisfaction that comes from the song or the movie they have downloaded.

The topic of media piracy is very broad, and in order to get a more meaningful conclusion I chose to take the angle of “Why we download” and what can happen if we get caught. A mountain of fines or even jail time is some of the things we face as modern day pirates. I’m sure we’ve all heard about stories of people getting caught for downloading music and how there was insane speculation on what the punishment would be. Is it all a scare tactic, or are they truthfully going to exact some “wrath” on the offender? Is it legal for them to invade the privacy of my hard drive? Many questions have been asked, and to me the many answers voice different opinions on what is right and wrong on these particular situations. Voicing my own opinions always gave me some thoughts such as “Will I ever get caught?”

I am a criminal, you heard right, I broke the law and therefore I am a criminal. I have songs on my computer which were downloaded illegally, and I never thought much of it before. About three weeks ago the Torch had an article on piracy and I reflected on it a bit and started to think about what would happen if I was caught. I don’t have much songs on my hard drive but certainly enough to be sought after and it now seems like this is a cyber car-chase. I tried doing things the legal way such as using programs such as I-Tunes where you purchase songs for about a dollar, but the selection was horrible and my wallet began to dwindle so I opted out after about a month, and went back to the old reliable p2p programs. Do I want to be imprisoned? Of course not, but something that seems so easy such as downloading subconsciously feels safe. However that safety zone is diminishing at an alarming rate.

Hopefully none of us get a subpoena in the mail from the RIAA, but if we do how will we justify it? I’m not hurting anyone or I have no cash? That wouldn’t fly right in court but it seems to be ok in society. Statistics and reasons why people opt to download music rather than buying it will give a solid foundation to my objective. The issue on piracy intrigues me, and a deep and gritty report on the inner workings would help me educate others as well as myself on the effect it has on everybody as a whole.