In two point counterpoint editorials in today’s USA Today, the paper’s editors square off against Hilary Rosen herself.
In her editorial, the Commander of the RIAA Death Star says, “The notion that pursuing peer-to-peer network piracy violates personal privacy is just plain wrong.
First, no one enjoys the right to commit a federal crime anonymously, and downloading or uploading copyrighted works such as software, movies or music without permission is clearly illegal.
Second, users open up their computers to the peer-to-peer networks, not copyright owners. It’s like walking down the street holding up a sign and then being mad that someone has read it.
And third, colleges and others can address this problem in non-invasive ways, such as using filtering systems and bandwidth-management controls.”
In the counterpoint, the USA Today staff says”…instead of moving quickly to compete in this new marketplace, the industry has launched an aggressive campaign to stop consumers from even sharing music as they would a VCR tape. Its intrusive methods ignore market realities and threaten the privacy of millions of computer users.’
“The industry defends its actions as necessary for protecting intellectual property. And certainly, piracy for profit is a concern. But the industry’s campaign won’t make file sharing go away; it’s simply too pervasive. As a research paper sponsored by Microsoft recently concluded, this ‘genie will not be put back into the bottle.’”
“The music industry can better lure consumers by treating them as ardent fans, not petty criminals.”
Go To USA Today’s Op-Ed page here, which links to both editorials.
Editor
Hilary
