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Am I being driven to piracy?

According to reports that have surfaced over the past few days, Microsoft and a number of US-based media companies are entering the hacking business.

Disney, Sony and Microsoft have teamed up with a Russian group calling themselves "Pirate Pay" in an attempt to ankle-tap P2P networks carrying torrents which, it is alleged, are carrying pirated movies and software.

Whilst I have every sympathy for anyone whose intellectual property is illegally disseminated over the internet, I think this move is a really bad look for all involved.

It is hacking. It is illegal. Which is probably why it's being done out of Russia and not from Microsoft, Sony or Disney's own servers in the USA.

Although the unauthorised copying of copyrighted material is illegal, so is the unauthorised interference with a computer network -- in most countries (certainly the USA).

It would appear that Microsoft, Disney et al, are relying on the fact that Russia's laws are somewhat more lenient and their enforcement decidedly lax.

Aside from the hypocrisy and probable illegality of this move it is most remarkable because of its ultimate ineffectiveness and futility.

This won't be a cheap operation, and one can't help but wonder if, instead of spending all this money on engaging in what is almost certainly "illegal hacking", these companies spent the money on coming up with better business models and delivering better value to their customers -- the results would be far more positive.

To be honest, I'm getting pretty pee'd off with the way these media companies are accusing me of being a criminal "You wouldn't download a handbag!" and threatening me with all manner of fines and imprisonment at the start of my favourite DVDs -- while they themselves are now "hacking" in an almost certainly illegal manner.

The old sheila has quite a collection of store-bought DVDs and since the TV antennas blew down (the letting agent *still* says the repair man is on his way --- 3 months and counting) we buy one new title a week.

No, we don't download TV shows or movies from the Net -- we actually fork out our hard-earned money to buy them legitimately (love the MightyApe).

However, if they keep on accusing me of piracy every time I put a disk in the drive -- I'm starting to think that I might as well just live up to their expectations and start downloading instead of buying. At the very least, it will mean I don't have to sit through their threats and allegations each time I watch a movie or TV series.

So there you go you lawless bunch of fools. Stop now or I'll consider that I have fair cause to ditch the legal route and perhaps I will become exactly what you accuse me of being already.

After all, if I break the law, I'll be in good company: Microsoft, Disney, Sony et al.

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