Canadian Downloaders of Illegal Material: Watch Out. They’re Coming for You
Like everyone, I went a little download-crazy in the years following Napster. But when things got more complicated, I gave up. Too much hassle with virus, seeding obligations and poorly tagged files.
All my music comes legitimately through iTunes (or similar), legally sanctioned downloads from artists/labels, music streaming, CDs and vinyl. I honestly can’t remember the last time I did something that could be constituted as “illegal downloading. It’s been years.
But there are those who remain at the buffet table, taking whatever they like. And it’s not just music, of course. It’s TV shows, movies, software, games.
Canadians have been mostly immune to the kind of heavy-handed tactics that have received all the attention in the US and elsewhere. Many feel a sense of impunity about the whole issue surrounding illegal downloading.
That, attitude, however, may have to change.
A Montreal company called Canipre is performing digital forensics the entertainment industry. They say they have files on one million Canadians who have been doing things with peer-to-peer that they shouldn’t be. They warn that “the door is closing.”
Read more here. And yes, there are big fines involved.
Wow, bittorrent? Who uses that anymore? Most people have moved onto streaming sites, no downloads involved. What will the movie and music industry blame their low sales on next? Maybe they should start looking at the crappy product they are putting out.
Fining people won't stop illegal downloading. The industry has a service delivery problem. You can't punish people into accepting shitty service.
I thought downloading files would have gone the same way as photocopying. It's still illegal to photograph printed resource material from public libraries, but the printer is right there and they capitalize from it too, No big deal now. Besides….most photo-copied resource material was used for it's purpose and then disposed of….same should be done with a lot of today's Viacom music.