Help Wanted
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is seeking volunteer lawyers to help defend illicit BitTorrent downloaders of movies against suits brought by the U. S. Copyright Group. The producers of the estimable Hurt Locker are apparently in the vanguard of this effort by the Hollywood Empire to strike back.
Now if only someone will tell me why efforts to destroy the creative industry that brings us such marvelous movies are classified as “public interest law”? As one of the founding principles of Digital Society says, “In a digital society, the biggest problem is not anti-competitive behavior, it is parasitic behavior,” which makes EFF one of the larger tape worms.
The EFF is probably taking the stance of presumed innocence. The argument probably goes something to the effect of: Just because it’s their IP address pirating the content doesn’t prove for certain it was that particular broadband subscriber.
The problem if we required this level of proof is that it makes it practically impossible to ever convict anyone of piracy. It’s not as if we could monitor every citizen under CCTV and prove that it wasn’t some burglar that broke into the home and framed the defendant. If we can convict people of first degree murder through circumstantial evidence, we can certainly make people responsible for the piracy taking place over their broadband connection. And it isn’t as if we’re throwing people in jail or giving them some outrageous settlement. The settlements are on the order of something you would get if you were caught littering.
Everyone – even a criminal – deserves representation in court. But the fact that EFF is focusing on illegal downloads via BitTorrent suggests that it is looking out for the personal financial interests of its board member and erstwhile president, Brad Templeton, rather than the public interest.
“Everyone – even a criminal – deserves representation in court”
Yes that is correct, but even criminals have a right to plea bargain. If your IP address was caught pirating content, you have the right to defend yourself if you are innocent or you can settle out of court.
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Digital Society is a digital think tank that believes culture and commerce are inseparable, that the digital economy flourishes when people are free and rights are secure, and that free markets free people.
Digital Society is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization, funded by donations from Jon Henke and from Arts+Labs. We advocate for a pro-culture, pro-commerce digital society through research, analysis and debate on emerging technology issues.
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