2005 study said responsible for 44% of domestic piracy losses, but revised figures now say is only 15% - a mere 3% of total worldwide piracy!.The MPAA is trying to play down revised data from a 2005 piracy study it commissioned claiming college students were to blame for some 44% of domestic losses from the illegal downloading of movies. It now says that they're only responsible for a mere 15% meaning that they were trying to blame them for 3 times as much illegal downloading as was actually the case. The revised data couldn't be revealed at a more important time, for the MPAA has long been using the study to pressure colleges to take tougher steps to prevent illegal file-sharing on campus via the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 currently being considered by the House of Representatives. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007is a proposed anti-piracy requirement for universities that ties their funding to the purchase of DRM-based, industry-sanctioned download services, and the deployment of network snoopware that spies on and disconnects students if found to be violating any copyright laws. The MPAA has responded by telling education groups that a "human error" is to blame and that 15% is still significant enough to justify the college campus crackdown. This, despite the fact that 15% of domestic losses, which are an estimated $1.3 billion, is now a measly $195 million. With worldwide lost revenue due to piracy reportedly being more than $6.1 billion, is it really worth all this effort for a mere 3% of total losses? Are we to allow the entertainment industry to target the educational funds of young people in this country while it seemingly turns the cheek at the other 97% that walks free? "The 44% figure was used to show that if college campuses could somehow solve this problem on this campus, then it would make a tremendous difference in the business of the motion picture industry," said Mark Luker, vice president of campus IT group Educause. The new figures prove "any solution on campus will have only a small impact on the industry itself." The MPAA said in a statement that no errors had been found in the study besides the percentage of revenue losses that could be attributed to college students, but that it would hire a third party to validate the numbers. "We take this error very seriously and have taken strong and immediate action to both investigate the root cause of this problem as well as substantiate the accuracy of the latest report." it said. The MPAA's rhetoric sounds good, but something tells me they won't exactly be in a hurry to tell Congressional lawmakers that the figures they've had all along were bogus ones. How about you? Terry Hartle, vice president of the American Council on Education, which represents higher education in Washington, said the mistakes showed the entertainment industry has unfairly targeted college campuses. "Illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing is a society-wide problem. Some of it occurs at colleges and universities but it is a small portion of the total," he said, adding colleges will continue to take the problem seriously, but more regulation isn't necessary. Again, why are college students, who are now reported to be responsible for only 3% of the problem, being asked to shoulder all of the MPAA's burden? I only hope that sponsors of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 sit up and take notice of this revised data. Inflating figures by 300% is a serious enough matter to merit reconsideration of their support. |
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