MPAA Gets College Kids To Create Free Propaganda
from the but-I-thought-if-it's-free,-it's-stolen? dept
For years, the entertainment industry has attempted to use school programs to help get kids to believe their propaganda about file sharing. While there's little evidence that unauthorized file sharing actually hurts the industry, and the numbers that the industry throws out about how much unauthorized file sharing costs it are easily proven as bogus, the industry still thinks that schools should be teaching students about ways to protect its outdated business models. Both the MPAA and the RIAA have created educational programs, where industry representatives go into schools to give extremely one-sided presentations that often ignore things like fair use or the basic economics of content. The latest may be even worse. Apparently, the MPAA has convinced a student group called "Students In Free Enterprise" (SIFE) that operates at a number of universities around the world, to have student film makers create propaganda public service commercials about how downloading harms the movie industry. TorrentFreak, where we learned of this, highlights some of the more ridiculous results. No matter what you think of the videos, you have to wonder why students are being asked to create one-sided videos for a specific commercial interest as a student project. In the meantime, we recall that one of the lessons that the MPAA in-school project was teaching kids was "If you haven't paid for it, you've stolen it." It would seem then, by the MPAA's own logic, these PSAs are "stolen."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
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
:P
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PSA?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: PSA?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Not effective
Also, I doubt the college students wanted to do the videos, but hey it's credit.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Satire
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Universities are not law enforcement organizations, they are not obligated, and indeed shouldn't, interfere or aide one side in civil disputes (unless compelled by law).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
VCRs & boomboxes
How about a propaganda-style MIREAA video in a retro-futuristic universe where VCRs & boomboxes (& pencils) have the same reputation as filesharing today; fair use laws never existed and computer technology hasn't advanced as far as it has in our universe.
The more I think about this RIAA-sponsored video thing, the better it sounds! How can they rule out mock propaganda?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The reality contains lawyers, threatening letters and fines (settlements), appropriately associated with lesser violations such as speeding (although the financial penalties for copyright infringement are disproportionately large).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Downloading sure as hell didn't hurt the porn industry.
Can they explain to the kiddies why you can find loads of porn on the web and yet the porn industry still made more $$$ than Hollywood last year?
lol
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Was it for Free ?
Not really, for the MPAA it's an easy way to get there "message" out.
What you truly need to wonder is WHO would create them for the MPAA, and did they truly do it for free ????
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: VCRs & boomboxes
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Massive BS from **AA
Now that bubble has faded out and the RIAA is screaming at the only external factor they can find -- they should be looking at a better business model and ways to use the Web to promote new music and broaden the music genres that are available.
Piracy of movies is total crap, at least in the file sharing way. The real piracy there is from MPAA members.
Record and movie execs need to read and understand "Guns, Germs, and Steel", or get ready to disappear.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Hot damn!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
I personally don't get why people pay for porn because there is so much available legally for free download, let alone via torrents or newsgroups.
Yet the porn industry sold $3.6 billion worth of DVDs in 2006, let alone other distribution channels and let alone world wide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/business/media/22porn.html?ex=1327122000&en=ae526fc82 277506a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
[ link to this | view in thread ]
porn
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Scientific standards
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Add Url
[ link to this | view in thread ]
one world one population one union
let's place to the young who gone a change something that would have been done long time ago but intelligence dont rise everywhere sorry the old welcome to the sunshine army corporation and to our new world...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Pay For College
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I want to see it!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Our Turn Excursions
[ link to this | view in thread ]