In this age wherein information is readily accessible than ever before, new issues with regard to access to such information have also cropped up as well. One of such issues is the one regarding piracy, which is the practice defined as reproduction of a piece media in a manner that is considered illegal by the law. Digital piracy includes, but is not limited to, works of media such as music, movies, books, and the like.
Piracy is a controversial issue in itself. Some regard piracy is a form of theft and thus be considered unethical and illegal, while others contend that piracy is an exercise of the freedom to information and thus can be viewed as justifiable from a certain perspective. Movie piracy, for one, can be considered ethical in some sense—even though it can be argued that piracy destroys the system of production and distribution, it also has its benefits such as allowing users to access content which can be otherwise be restricted from a group, it encourages the system to be more friendly with their customer base, and the purported ‘stealing’ that is committed in piracy cannot be considered stealing in a conventional sense.
First, piracy has its ethical benefits since it gives some people the right to access content that are otherwise restricted from them. For example, some distributors deny some regions the right to view their content for whatever reason, and thus it prohibits people from that region from enjoying that piece of entertainment. There are also people who are too poor to afford to watch movies, and prohibiting them from pirating the movies can be viewed as denying them the right to enjoy these movies. As such, it can be considered in some cases that piracy can be the means for people to access movies that are normally unavailable to them.
The second argument for piracy concerns with how the industry treats its consumer base. It can be said that piracy can result in huge losses for the movie industry; people do not pay for tickets and as such the moviemakers and the actors suffer as a result (Singer). However, it can also be argued that piracy actually helps the movie industry. For instance, if a film is bad then moviegoers would not have to waste money watching it on the big screen, and thus it prompts moviemakers to make movies of a better quality. Also, piracy may introduce a certain movie to a wider audience, who can then support the movie industry in the long run. In other words, it can help the movie makers and the audience reach a new level of interaction than before.
Finally, there is the issue of theft in movie piracy. ‘Theft’ as defined by the anti-piracy side differs from its traditional notion. Just because someone pirates a movie does not mean that they are stealing it from someone; they only reproduce the file (Hardy, Crawzyck, & Tyrowicz). The process of gaining and losing when it comes to digital piracy is much more nuanced. In line with this, it can also be said that the issue of intellectual property, the main concept behind the anti-piracy argument, severely restricts the freedom to expression (Healey).
All in all, it may be true that anti-piracy arguments have their merits, but piracy cannot be considered wholly unethical. Piracy is in a sense an exercise of the right to freedom, and as such it has its benefits as well.
Works Cited
Hardy, Wojciech, Krawczyk, Michal, & Tyrowicz, Joanna. “Why is Online Piracy Different from Theft?” A Vignette Experiment.” University of Warsaw Faculty of Economic Sciences, 2013, www.wne.uw.edu.pl/inf/wyd/WP/WNE_WP109.pdf.
Healey, Jon. “File Sharing or Stealing?” The Conversation, 13 Apr 2015, theconversation.com/is-downloading-really-stealing-the-ethics-of-digital-piracy-39930
Singer, Peter. “The Ethics of Internet Piracy”. ABC, 13 Feb 2012, www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/ 2012/02/13/3429291.htm.
