Littering College Campuses About The "Dangers" Of File Sharing
from the like-that-will-help dept
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is taking a page from its sister organization, the RIAA, and are getting ready to litter non-US college campuses with pamphlets talking about the evils of file-sharing. Instead of focusing on the moral & legal reasons they oppose file sharing (a tactic that doesn't ring true with anyone - partly because it isn't really true), it sounds like this is a FUD campaign. They talk about how file sharing slows down networks, and even claim that some unnamed people at some unnamed universities "can't even get on the Internet" because of all the file sharing. They also point out that (oooh, scary) using such a system makes you "more vulnerable" to viruses and "other digital intrusions". So, now, I guess they're just trying to scare people away from file sharing. It's amazing how hard they're working and how much money they're spending to shut down a great distribution system that was handed to them for free. In the list of all-time short-sighted moves, this one remains near the top.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team