Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ipm/music_piracy_cartoon.jpg
There is a strong belief that
downloading internet content for free is unethical. I agree to some extent that
downloading for free is considered unethical. This essay will presents both
sides of the argument and then present my opinion.
First of all, some people argue that
downloading for free is unethical. There is a common belief that taking
something without permission is stealing. According to the common law, theft is
considered a crime. In most cases, criminal activities would always have
consequences such as a legal claim. Immanuel Kant advocated the use of maxims,
personal rules that you use to make a moral decision. He also resisted using
people as tools, because he argued that people have to respect all other
people. Because of this, downloading for free shows a lack of respect to the
publishers and is a form of manipulation. On the academic perspective
particularly, illegal downloading academic content, like academic journals or
books, is a serious threat. A lot of institutions held a campaign against
piracy in education. For example, in 2008, the University of California at
Davis held a campaign to prevent the students from illegal downloading. The
students who have been proven downloaded without any license need to get fined.
Thus, the argument that free downloading is unethical seems to be true because
it against both ethic and law.
Following that, other people argue
that downloading for free is ethical. They claim that everyone has a right to
have access to useful material on the internet. John Stuart Mill would take
this position. He stated that people are acting morally if the consequences of
an action bring happiness to the greatest number of people. In this case,
internet content can benefit lot of people; they can share audio and video files
easily. In education, people may have access to unlimited files related to
academic subjects, like scientific journals, books and other learning
materials. Even so, there is a misuse. Some people download files from the
internet for sale and they make it to gain economic benefit illegally. A case
in point is the total sales of music piracy in the USA last year were reached
more than 100 million dollars. However, the economic loss on music piracy was
less significant if it is compared to its total economic revenue. Based on
Nielson statistics, the total sales for music recordings in 2012 rose to USD
1.65 billion or increased 3.1 percent than the previous year. In addition, even
though music piracy causes an economic loss, the impact is less outweighing.
Hence, Mill's position in this argument is clear, as he suggested that the
consequences of an action should be evaluated according to the benefit that
they bring. Conversely, it is not wise enough to accept a philosophy that
suggests people believe that the end justifies the means.
In my point of view, I understand
the term that downloading for free is unethical because piracy is never right
and it is against the intellectual property law. If people need to download
internet content such as audio and video files, they need to purchase it. On
the other hand, not every person can buy music or academic journals from the
publishers because of its price. For example, access to JSTOR, an online
journal provider, is worth at least USD 500 only for a year. Aristotle stated
that, things that help us grow and flourish are good, and those things that
stifle or stunt our growth are bad. Based on this, we can assume that more
benefits can be gained by downloading for free, where every person can have
access on the internet. This does not mean that disrespecting the publishers’
intellectual right is acceptable. On the contrary, a specific measure needs to
be arranged in order to reduce illegal downloading, like an affordable price.
Overall, internet content has both
benefits and drawbacks. It depends on every person to use it as a learning
resource, or a medium to gain financial income illegally. Ethical or unethical
however, belongs to every internet user to decide the boundary between right or
wrong. In the future, I hope the price for internet content will be set at a
level which everyone can afford it.
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