The Real Blame for File Sharing

This morning on my way out the front doors of Bailey Hall (St. Paul Campus) I picked up a copy of the Minesota Daily. Like always, the Daily contained many enlightening and and well put together columns. However, on the Editorials and Opinions page a University Student wrote in a Letter to the Editor that I could not ignore. In the letter the student claimed that the consumers are not to blame when it comes to file sharing. Instead, he inserts that the record companies should instead 'try to keep up with the changing technologies.' The argument made was so grossly undercooked that I had to laugh.

The author says that digital file sharing compares to the cassette tapes and VHS tapes a decade ago. In a way, he is correct. The actual software of file sharing programs was not intended to be a way to pirate music and movies, but just like with cassettes, the technology is abused and raped. Because you have the ability to download anything for free does not mean that the artist or creator has lost the artistic rights to that unique piece of intellectual property.

Instead of merely putting the blame on record companies because people love stuff for free, the population needs to realize that file sharing is theft. People need to pull their fingers out of their ears and stop screaming and face the music: the blame does not rest on corporations or policing agencies, it rests on us.