This article from last week shows that, despite law and fines, illegal file sharing continues on a fairly large scale. And that is only just within Japan. However, what surprises me more are the people in the forums who SUPPORT the file-sharing (I for one, refuse to associate with these people in general, and only come for the news). What surprises me isn’t the fact that they support it, but the fact that they’re open about it. In the case that they are kidding (which honestly does not seem to be the case), it would be in poor taste.
Overall, considering what they were sharing and how, should the people arrested get support, pity, or punishment?
It is very interesting how file sharing has become a sort of norm that many people partake in. Technically, file sharing is stealing. People worked very hard on what is being shared in hope to make money off of it; but due to file sharing, the profits that are being made off of these entities are a lot less than what they could be. The law needs to be more strict around file sharing and it shouldn’t be as accepted in everyday life as it is today.
I think the law should be stricter when it comes to file sharing. It is a form of stealing therefore it should be treated the same way as a person stealing something from a store.
Although it is deplorable that there are many people who support illegal file sharing, it is not hard to understand why this is so. This is a case where convenience is put before morals. File sharing, while illegal and wrong, is easier than legitimately obtaining the materials in question, due to the fact there is no cost associated with file sharing. When this convenience exists, people sometimes do not think about how their actions effect others. The result is situations like the one described in the above blog post.
I agree with the author. Stealing someone else’s work is not a joking matter and in a lot of cases can be paralleled to stealing money. However the only time I find it ok is if there is no alternative, legal option to get said material.