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Culture

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Apr 26th 2004 12:36am





Entertainment Industry Continues Teaching Students One Sided Lesson

from the now,-children,-thinking-for-yourself-is-bad dept

You may remember that last fall the entertainment industry began a project where they went into schools to teach a "lesson" on why file sharing was bad that included the lesson, "if you didn't pay for it, you stole it." Of course, to hammer this lesson home, the industry gave away for free DVD players and trips to Hollywood to those students who could come up with the best essays to express why anything free must be stolen (sort out the irony for yourself). Now the industry says they're so happy with the program that they're gearing up to use it next school year as well. This raises the very important question of who the hell is letting the industry into the classroom to teach a very one-sided lesson? Anyway, while the article does a good job of expressing the opinions of those who oppose this program, ("It's rather like inviting the American insurance industry into the classroom to tell kids about the future of health care") the reporter clearly got confused on the specifics of the entertainment industry's lawsuits. The article claims the MPAA and the RIAA have been suing downloaders - which isn't true. The MPAA hasn't filed any lawsuits specifically against people for using file sharing. They have filed suit against someone caught digitizing and uploading a movie though. Also, and this point is missed by any number of articles on the topic, the RIAA isn't suing people for downloading unauthorized tracks, but for sharing those tracks and offering them to others to download.

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  1.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 7:26am

    No Subject Given

    .... to express why anything free must be stolen ... your words or theirs ?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
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    Oliver Wendell Jones, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 7:59am

    Arrests made?

    Did the MPAA/RIAA immediately call the police and have them arrest the students who 'stole' the DVD player and movies they received without paying for them?

     

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  3.  
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    NOBODY, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 8:06am

    No Subject Given

    Thank you!

    I think it's sad that the main stream media doesn't understand the difference between uploaders and downloaders. But it seems that the music industry doesn't either.

    I actually sent my eight year old to school with a set of responses to disprove any of this garbage, complete with documentation and legal arguments, precidents etc. Just in case they decide to do it in her school. I don't think they will, but still... you can never be too safe.

     

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  4.  
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    Frank, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 8:36am

    legal advice

    If these people aren't attorneys, how are they qualified to interpret the law and give legal advice to children?

     

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  5.  
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    Paul M Johnson, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 10:34am

    Re: No Subject Given

    Media reporting on so many subject is lacking these days. You'd expect that with so many people on the internet fact checking them media people would try harder to get the fact straight.

    But in this case I think I can guess at why the reporter confused who the RIAA was sueing. The RIAA is sueing people to stop illegal downloading thus the people it is sueing must be the downloaders since they are performing the action the RIAA wishing to stop.

     

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  6.  
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    AMetamorphosis, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 11:18am

    First Place for reality ala' 1984 ...


    I would love to be a young smart ass student in one of those schools that is offered this " deal " ... I can just see my essay now on why I can not and do not want to win the essay contest for fear of arrest and reprisals due to receiving a free DVD player knowing that anything I receive free must be stolen.

     

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  7.  
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    Permanent4, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 1:34pm

    Re: First Place for reality ala' 1984 ...

    It's not free, really. You have to write a really stupid essay to get the DVD player, and even then you might not get it. (Of course, if you try that at Best Buy, you DEFINITELY won't get it...)

     

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  8.  
    identicon
    NOBODY, Apr 26th, 2004 @ 2:32pm

    Re: First Place for reality ala' 1984 ...

    Then why call it a "free" dvd player and a "free" trip? I think if I were the RIAA or the MPAA, and I were trying to attatch a stigma to the word free, the least I could do would be to use a different word when describing all the free stuff I'm throwing at these kids.... really.

     

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