Hamelink (2006, 117) discusses various ethical issues of Internet use within society; Piracy in particular was of interest to me – “Thou shalt not use a computer to steal”. As a film student I have a variety of opinions regarding Internet piracy.
Film piracy is illegal and unethical but I’d be lying if I said I’d never downloaded or watched a pirated film. Even though I’m aware my Internet use, in this regard, is unethical, there are reasons for my actions. My DVD collection is huge and made of legitimate film purchases and I happily pay to watch a new release film at the cinema.
On the other hand, there are films that I have admittedly chosen to download, but for specific reasons. There might be an international film I’d like to watch, but it may be difficult to get a hold of, in that case I may choose to download it. There are also films I’d prefer to watch before I buy the DVD and therefore download it first. I also know others who pirate television shows because they are released overseas earlier than in Australia.
Though I can be considered a film pirate, I disagree with those who download almost every film they watch, with little legitimate purchases.
References:
Hamelink, C. J. 2006. “Chapter 7: The Ethics of the Internet : Can We Cope With Lies and Deceit on The Net?” In Ideologies of the Internet, edited by Katherine
Sarikakis and Daya K Thussu, 115-130. New Jersey: Hampton Press Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment