The DMCA handles digital piracy through its “safe-harbor” provisions, which protect service providers form monetary liability due to the activity of infringing 3rd parties. Specifically, the provisions require service providers to comply with their conditions, including performing a “notice and takedown” of allegedly infringing content, if they want this protection. However, the provisions also allow for users whose content has been taken down to challenge the ruling. The logic behind the “safe-harbor” provisions is that by giving copyright holders a quick and easy way to take down allegedly infringing (read that as “pirated”) content, the provisions are actually allowing online intermediaries like YouTube to continue providing services without fear of liability while maintaining the rights held by copyright owners. Some would even view this as “essential to the growth of the Internet as an engine for innovation and free expression.” This sounds all well and good, but does the average Internet user really care about digital piracy? Is digital piracy ethical in the average user’s eye? Is piracy even an issue in light of services like Netflix and Spotify?
I think the best response to the question of the ethics of digital piracy ironically comes in the form of this clip from South Park. While pirating content is unethical in the sense that it prevents creators from collecting their just dues/royalties for their work, people should realize that the creators who have the resources to legal action against pirates (or at least the ones that have received the most media attention) have more than enough to not be seriously hurt from those lost profits. Look at Mettallica v. Napster, Inc. or Kanye seeking legal action against The Pirate Bay. These aren’t your starving musicians barely making enough to survive, they’re multimillion dollar artists whose names have a global reach. Even if their music gets pirated, they’re still going to make money off live performances, merchandise, corporate sponsorships, and even good old fashioned people legitimately buying their content because they are dedicated fans. Lets not forget that at the end of the day, a creator whose work has been pirated is still having their work viewed/appreciated by an audience who, if they become dedicated fans, may switch over to actually purchasing content.
I am one of the many Internet users who have shared pirated content, typically in the form of movies and music. I’ve never done it because I couldn’t pay up or out of some need to hoard information. I did it to be able to view content that I normally do not have access to (like shows from the BBC) or download music from smaller bands whose material is not available through conventional means. Being able to view content that you are normally aren’t able to access, whether through geographic location, time, money, etc., is what I think drives most people towards online piracy. However, with the advent of services like Netflix and Spotify, these barriers are slowly disappearing and piracy is on the decline. I wouldn’t call these services solutions to piracy, since there are still movies, shows, songs, etc not available through these services that people will resort to pirating to obtain. Until the day when streaming services are able to offer up every bit of desired content to every user on the Internet, online pirates will continue to sail their digital seas. Are they a problem? Ethically yes. Are they a problem worth dedicating a lot of resources to? Probably not, so long as artists and creators continue to have dedicated fans and supporters.
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