Liberdade na internet em perigo

Policing internet piracy

 

Tougher laws against online pirates are needed, but a proposal in Congress could hit law-abiding businesses

NO MATTER what the “content-should-be-free” crowd says, copyright theft robs artists and businesses of their livelihoods. Creative industries employ millions of people in the advanced world (and could be a rung on the ladder for poorer countries too, if, say, unscrupulous European content thieves did not habitually purloin the efforts of African musicians). The damage may be less than the annual $135 billion that the entertainment and publishing industries claim. These firms could change their business models to reduce the pirates’ profits, especially in countries where an album costs a day’s wages. But mispricing does not justify crime.
So far, attempts to stop online piracy have largely failed. Lawsuits did shut down file-sharing services such as Napster and Grokster, but others have taken their place—such as Pirate Bay and the new “cyberlockers” (see article) that operate in hard-to-reach jurisdictions. Many users of these sites think they are swapping, not stealing, material. But the cyberlockers make money with extra charges for heavy users.
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