DIGITAL PIRACY:
SAILING ACROSS THE SEA OF ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING
“Piracy is not the problem, obscurity is.”
-Seth Godin
Technology has revolutionized the way people consume and make use of various services. Physical stores are being replaced by online services that offer almost every kind of service with just a single click. People often use diverse web applications such as Spotify, Netflix, and Youtube to access their favorite movies and music. But with the unstoppable advancement comes the proliferation of digital piracy.
DIGITAL PIRACY, WHY IS IT A PROBLEM?
The Cambridge Dictionary defines Digital Piracy as the practice of illegally copying and selling digital music, video, computer software, etc. This means that by simply downloading and using the illegally downloaded files makes you a pirate. This problem is alarming since it interrupts the business of entertainment co., software developers, and content creators who constantly pour their sweat and blood just to create their product and service and make it accessible to the masses. In addition, most of the illegally downloaded files carry a malware that breaches the security of your device and most probably infect the device-this should worry the users since malware can expose sensitive and private files from a user.
“Downloading pirated software and software cracks are among the fastest and likeliest ways to infect your computer with something that ultimately hands control of your PC to someone else. It is almost never safe to download executable programs from peer-to-peer file sharing networks because they are a major source of malware infections.”
– Brian Krebs, Security Blogger
WHY DO PEOPLE PIRATE?
There are certain reasons why people tend to take risks of illegally downloading digital music, videos, and software.
- Expensive. Pirates find the value of digital content not worth spending even a cent of their money, so they choose to pirate because it is “free”.
- Identical. Pirates access pirated files exactly the same as the paid ones but with malware that could infect and harm the device.
- Ignorance. Some of the pirates are unaware that what they are doing is illegal or punishable by law. They are also clueless about how they greatly affect the business industry and the economy.
- Incognito. Pirates think they will not be caught by the authority due to a large amount of people who supports digital piracy. Little did they know, their Internet Protocol addresses can be tracked.
- Norm. Pirates find digital piracy as normal because most of the people around them do it as if it is a usual thing.
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ABOUT DIGITAL PIRACY?
Products, content, trademarks, services and other forms of Intellectual Property (IP) are protected by the Republic Act No. 8293 also known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. The law gives power to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Anyone who violates the given conditions by the IPO shall give a fine ranging from 50,000 pesos – 1,500,000 pesos and 6-9 years of imprisonment depending on the degree of the crime violated/committed. This issue was often neglected in the Philippines until various groups of creators pushed an act called “Anti-Piracy” and was put into a law that paved the way for other laws concerning the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) in the Philippines.
MY THOUGHTS ABOUT DIGITAL PIRACY
I used to support digital piracy. Sites such as the infamous The Pirate Bay became my go-to whenever a new movie or song is released or every time my Anti-Virus software application expires. Back then, I was unaware that I was interrupting a billion-dollar industry while violating a law that could send me off to prison. Until I educated myself about digital piracy and that how it greatly affects the economy and industry. What’s lacking in the system is education about digital piracy that would cause the people to realize that using MP3 converter, Youtube Downloader, and torrenting sites are illegal. Only then it will put digital piracy to an end.
THANK YOU!
SOURCES:
Online Sites:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/digital-piracy
https://www.webroot.com/us/en/resources/tips-articles/the-societal-costs-of-digital- piracy
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/06/software-cracks-a-great-way-to-infect-your-pc/
http://www.chanrobles.com/legal7code.htm#.XfpIa2QzYdU
https://www.philstar.com/business/2017/04/02/1683523/anti-piracy-group-intensifies-drive-vs-unlicensed-software
https://houseofit.ph/the-philippines-needs-stricter-online-piracy-laws/
Images:
https://static.adweek.com/adweek.com-prod/wp-content/uploads/files/2016_Jun/digital-piracy-hed-2016
https://i0.wp.com/www.broadbandtvnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Online-Piracy.
https://fossbytes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WHY-DO-PEOPLE-PIRATE-REASONS
https://www.sde.org.tr/content/upload/news/internet-yasasi
https://houseofit.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/The-Philippines-Needs-Stricter-Online-Piracy-Laws
DIGITAL PIRACY 
