If you’ve ever watched a movie on DVD, there is a good chance you’ve seen something resembling the following message: “The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.” Ironically, the only people who see this message are people who are not pirating movies (they bought it on DVD!). In the streaming age, we could all use a refresher on why piracy is not as victimless of a crime as many believe.
In the 21st century, people have grown accustomed to accessing any content they desire online, often at little to no cost. From movies to music, textbooks to sporting events, the internet has become a treasure trove of low-cost or free content. This is a convenience unparalleled in history, but it raises profound questions about sustainability and ethicality in the long run. The hidden costs of free content should make us rethink exactly how we use the internet to access media.
Digital piracy — and the attempts to thwart it — have been around as long as the internet. In the early 2000s, the peer-to-peer music downloading application Napster debuted, which allowed users to download their favorite songs for an unprecedented price: nothing. Despite its popularity, Napster flew a bit too close to the sun. After being sued by music publishers, the company was forced to pay millions in damages after (unsurprisingly) being proclaimed to be very illegal and eventually declared bankruptcy. However, Napster’s legend still echoes across Silicon Valley as a major influence on the new era of popular illegal piracy websites and the streaming services that we know and, maybe, love.
Piracy is still a popular option for consumers. The number of visits to online piracy websites worldwide reached an astonishing 141 billion in 2023, up 12% since 2019. In the world of sports, piracy websites have become popular to stream live games. A 2023 survey found that 35% of NFL fans choose to use illegal streaming over cable channels.
It is easy to label piracy as a “victimless crime,” with the only victims being the faceless yet ubiquitous entertainment companies and publishers who are making billions in profit anyway. This is at least partly true — the scheme does hurt large corporations who stand a lot to gain from the success of their intellectual property.
However, less visible is the damage done to ordinary people — the set dressers, stunt performers, medics, production assistants, technicians and assistants whose livelihoods depend on the success of entertainment projects. The additional box office returns gained if piracy was eliminated — as much as 15% — could be spent financing other projects that employ more people for higher wages.
A 2019 report from the United States Chamber of Commerce found that piracy cost the United States economy between 230,000 and 560,000 jobs and between $29.2 billion and $71 billion annually. Of course, entertainment companies need to do a much better job of compensating below-the-line employees regardless, but fixing the piracy problem is a step in the right direction.
Students are probably familiar with another version of digital piracy: free textbook PDFs. They likely have been enrolled in classes with an assigned textbook (which the professor may or may not have written). It is very tempting, and understandable, to bypass the high cost of a textbook (usually between $100 and $150, but sometimes as high as $400) with a free, relatively accessible online version of the same book. The majority of college students — including myself — have taken this route. All the while, students neglect the fact that the authors and editors who spend much of their waking lives writing books are suffering. According to a 2018 survey, the median annual income for authors has decreased by 42% since 2009. Piracy ignores the thousands of hours of work required to produce books in the first place.
Laws protect intellectual property for a reason. Copyright protects the creators behind the work and incentivizes them to keep producing it. The widespread prevalence of piracy jeopardizes these very ideas. As piracy continues to increase, it puts the long-term viability of several industries in serious question.
Well, what can we do about piracy? It may simply be to think about the content that we consume online differently. The internet has ushered in a new age where many things, such as music, are much cheaper. However, we shouldn’t expect everything to be free. It is important to understand that behind every free movie or book is an industry of people who rely on the sales of said media.
It’s unrealistic to expect piracy to go away completely, but maybe we should think a bit harder before we decide to obtain something without paying for it. We must ask ourselves if we can afford it anyway, or if we need to be consuming that content in the first place. While the allure of free content may be tempting, it comes at a steep cost to those who pour their passion and hard work into producing it. As consumers, we must recognize our responsibility to support the creators and uphold the value of intellectual property rights. By choosing legal avenues for accessing media, we can safeguard the future of creativity and innovation.
Hayden Buckfire is an Opinion Columnist who writes about U.S. politics and culture. He can be reached at haybuck@umich.edu.