Stealing

Ted Olsen has an interesting Op-Ed piece in today's Wall Street Journal (it's a subscription service on line) called "Thou Shalt Not Steal". Olsen is the former soliciter general who now represents the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. He writes about so-called peer-to-peer file sharing systems that are available free of charge to anyone with a computer. These services make their money by selling advertising aimed at the system's users. They make music and movies available to be downloaded by their users without charge. The systems argue that they are not doing anything illegal, but their arguments are sketchy, at best.

Later this month the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the legality of these systems in a case called MGM Studios v. Grokster.

Olsen makes a strong case that these systems are engaged in copyright infringement. He points out that 90% of the activity of these sites is for the purposes of unlawful copyright infringement. (It is beyond question that those users who are actually downloading the music or movies are involved in unlawful copyright infringement).

He makes another very important point:

These systems also inflict immeasurable damage to our standards and morals. By enabling millions of persons, especially our children, to take property without paying for it, we are sending a potent message that it is acceptable somehow to steal music if it is done in the home with a computer rather than stuffing CDs from a store into a backpack and walking out. That is why many organizations who represent traditional values have joined in the effort to stop this systematic and widespread theft - unified by the belief in the simple and ancient principle: "Thou Shalt Not Steal".

I couldn't agree more with this last statement. I know that many frum teens take advantage of these systems and also trade music that they upload from CDs. Indeed, I was told by a Jewish music insider that the Israel-based record store and distributor, Gal Paz, told him that the volume of their J Muisc CD sales is significantly down because so many people are "sharing" the music through MP3s.

This is a very disturbing trend, not just because it will cause financial harm to Jewish musicians (many of whom struggle as it is) but because a practice that is nothing short of stealing is becoming commonplace and acceptable.

I think it is incumbent on parents and Rabbanim to make it clear to their kids that file sharing and CD swapping is wrong, and, as Ted Olsen, writes, no different from shoplifting CDs.