What the MPAA Still Isn't Telling Us

Scott Jaschik writes "An essay at the Inside Higher Ed site looks at the fallout from the MPAA's admission that its statistics on college student downloading were seriously wrong. Among the questions: What is the MPAA still holding back? Why isn't the MPAA changing its position on legislation? 'Perhaps the MPAA's press release acknowledging its "300 percent error" will set the stage for new, less rancorous private and public discussions about P2P piracy. Colleges and universities respect copyright; colleges and universities are engaged in serious efforts to inform and educate students about the importance of copyright. And MPAA and RIAA officials ... should acknowledge, respect and strongly support the continuing efforts of campus officials to address copyright issues, in part by ending the public posturing that portrays colleges and universities as dens of digital piracy.'"

This caused more piracy

[acoustix]

If anything, the MPAA's constant announcements that rabid P2P use among high school and college students was a major concern only fueled the fire for more kids to pirate movies.

Re:Please think of the recording artists

[$RANDOMLUSER]

You're buying into exactly what the RIAA wants you to think - that musicians make lots of money from selling albums. They don't. Musicians make their money from touring, from playing to audiences for money. The people who make lots of money from selling albums are the record companies.

Re:Why download bootleg movies?

[Lilith's Heart-shape]

OK, you got me. It's number 2, but I didn't see those two. I saw Cloverfield instead. You're right: I want to see the MPAA contribute to the United States' march towards tyranny. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get over it and go back to being the land of the free and the home of the brave.

A great man once said...

[MrNemesis]

...if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Ooops, sorry, insta-Godwin.

But we see the same tactics from the RIAA all the time - persistently referring to copyright infringement as stealing (maybe I should redefine "RIAA executive" as "sex offender"? I'd love to be able to change the meanings of legally applicable terms to suit my preference), persistently telling us that "piracy" loses a magical $X billion from the economy every year, that it supports terrorism/drug dealers/the mafia/anyone else seen as "bad". Lies. More lies. TFA (a good, polite rant) is just a catalogue of their lies and, occasionally spin-tastic back-pedalling. And yet such an organisation is not only allowed to exist, but to get in bed with the government too? And now they want to get their greasy paws on every privately owned internet connection in the US?

Sorry, no. I think my insta-Godwin was half-warranted in the case of these capricious fucks.

Re:Why download bootleg movies?

[Creepy Crawler]

Even if you are of average intelligence (which I assume that you are higher, considering where we are), the constant barrage of anti-copying and zoning "technology" should have made you weary on what to buy, regardless of chicken bones and coffee grounds.

You know, past performance determines future behavior and all..

Re:There's no recovery from tyranny.

[AKAImBatman]

All we can do is either keep our heads down until the current tyranny destroys itself and try to pick up the pieces

Well, Rome had ~500 years of tyranny, followed by ~1000 years of a split and crumbling empire with poor living conditions, rampant disease, hunger, and incredibly short lifespans. Soo... guess what? You're dead either way. Better to take a stand while you still can than wafting on a hope that "Rome will be a Republic once again! Someday. Soon. Maybe."

Of course, your rather dire attitude towards the US places your objectivity about the current political situation in question. I can guarantee you that things are not quite as bad as you're making them out to be. If the US crumbles, it will be more through ambivalence and poor maintenance than tyranny.