blackice
09-30-2005, 04:05 PM
File-sharing is eroding the moral fiber of Canadian youth (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050930-5368.html)
9/30/2005 12:47:37 PM, by Eric Bangeman
Provocative headline? Well, that's what the Canadian Recirding Industry Assocation would have you believe (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050929.wpiracy0929/BNStory/Technology/) as it trumpets the results of two studies it commissioned from the Canadian research firms Pollara and Environics. According to the survey, which Canadians aged 18 to 29 were three times more likely than the rest of the population to shoplift and 2.7 times more likely to cheat on an exam than those in other groups.
When it comes to downloading music over P2P, 60 percent of Canadians in that age group would do it, compared to 29 percent of the general population. The CRIA says the figures mean one thing: young people have no respect for the property of others.
"Not only does music file-swapping harm artists, but it also points to an erosion of respect for intellectual property that threatens Canada's economy and values at the core of our society," said Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, which commissioned the polls.
"The 'if it's there, it's free' thinking extends far beyond entertainment products and software to ideas themselves," Mr. Henderson added, noting a rise in plagiarism in schools and universities.
A few points: the 18- to 29-year-old segment also represents one of the most technologically adept segments of the population. So increased time spent downloading music over P2P networks is to be expected in much the same way that they spend more time online and are more comfortable with technology in general. Also, just half of the Environics sample came from online surveys, which more than likely skewed the results.
Moreover, as any first-year psychology student will tell you, correlation does not prove causation. In researching this story, I read over several studies on the incidence of shoplifting. Despite what the CRIA would have us believe, teenagers and young adults are more likely to shoplift, period. That's regardless of whether they download 300 songs per month or have never gone on the Internet. How much more likely? Strangely enough, about three times more likely—the same figure reported in the CRIA-commissioned study.
This is just another in a long line of attempts by the recording industry around the world to paint file-sharing as a dire threat to its livelihood. The Pollara study also resurrects the old and tired argument (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050815-5208.html) that each download represents a corresponding loss in sales. Does anyone really believe that the college freshman who has 1,000 downloaded tracks in her WinAmp playlist would have had the financial wherewithal to buy the 100 or so CDs that represents had they not been available on P2P?
If you haven't figured it out, the CRIA is trumpeting the results of the study in advance of legislation (http://www.parl.gc.ca/LEGISINFO/index.asp?Lang=E&query=4527&Session=13&List=toc) up for a second reading in the Canadian Parliament. Bill C-60 would significantly amend Canadian copyright law in a way that would be harmful to Canadian consumers. Included are provisions similar to the DMCA in the US that would bar circumvention of DRM, even for fair use purposes. And naturally, it would overturn the Copyright Board of Canada's decision (http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1071297605.html) that P2P downloading was ok. This would probably be a good time for our Canadian friends to contact their MPs and let them know their thoughts on C-60.
9/30/2005 12:47:37 PM, by Eric Bangeman
Provocative headline? Well, that's what the Canadian Recirding Industry Assocation would have you believe (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050929.wpiracy0929/BNStory/Technology/) as it trumpets the results of two studies it commissioned from the Canadian research firms Pollara and Environics. According to the survey, which Canadians aged 18 to 29 were three times more likely than the rest of the population to shoplift and 2.7 times more likely to cheat on an exam than those in other groups.
When it comes to downloading music over P2P, 60 percent of Canadians in that age group would do it, compared to 29 percent of the general population. The CRIA says the figures mean one thing: young people have no respect for the property of others.
"Not only does music file-swapping harm artists, but it also points to an erosion of respect for intellectual property that threatens Canada's economy and values at the core of our society," said Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, which commissioned the polls.
"The 'if it's there, it's free' thinking extends far beyond entertainment products and software to ideas themselves," Mr. Henderson added, noting a rise in plagiarism in schools and universities.
A few points: the 18- to 29-year-old segment also represents one of the most technologically adept segments of the population. So increased time spent downloading music over P2P networks is to be expected in much the same way that they spend more time online and are more comfortable with technology in general. Also, just half of the Environics sample came from online surveys, which more than likely skewed the results.
Moreover, as any first-year psychology student will tell you, correlation does not prove causation. In researching this story, I read over several studies on the incidence of shoplifting. Despite what the CRIA would have us believe, teenagers and young adults are more likely to shoplift, period. That's regardless of whether they download 300 songs per month or have never gone on the Internet. How much more likely? Strangely enough, about three times more likely—the same figure reported in the CRIA-commissioned study.
This is just another in a long line of attempts by the recording industry around the world to paint file-sharing as a dire threat to its livelihood. The Pollara study also resurrects the old and tired argument (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050815-5208.html) that each download represents a corresponding loss in sales. Does anyone really believe that the college freshman who has 1,000 downloaded tracks in her WinAmp playlist would have had the financial wherewithal to buy the 100 or so CDs that represents had they not been available on P2P?
If you haven't figured it out, the CRIA is trumpeting the results of the study in advance of legislation (http://www.parl.gc.ca/LEGISINFO/index.asp?Lang=E&query=4527&Session=13&List=toc) up for a second reading in the Canadian Parliament. Bill C-60 would significantly amend Canadian copyright law in a way that would be harmful to Canadian consumers. Included are provisions similar to the DMCA in the US that would bar circumvention of DRM, even for fair use purposes. And naturally, it would overturn the Copyright Board of Canada's decision (http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1071297605.html) that P2P downloading was ok. This would probably be a good time for our Canadian friends to contact their MPs and let them know their thoughts on C-60.