Jason Dunn
08-22-2007, 09:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070813-kids-in-europe-justify-piracy-papa-pirates-so-i-do-too.html' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070813-kids-in-europe-justify-piracy-papa-pirates-so-i-do-too.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Everybody's doing it!" That's one excuse provided by European kids as to why they pirate media or software from the Internet, according to new survey results from the European Commission. The qualitative survey consisted of 9-10 year olds and 12-14 year olds across all 27 of the European Union's member states (plus Norway and Iceland) and was meant to gauge how children in Europe use online technologies. And while most of them are aware that downloading things like music, movies, and video games is illegal, they're more than willing to justify it. The survey found that the older group of children was more likely to participate in piracy and that boys were more likely to do it than girls. For the most part, the kids can clearly identify when what they are doing is illegal, but they are armed with a plethora of excuses as to why they continue to do it. One of the first reasons cited in the paper is that "everyone" is doing it—including their parents. This, according to the EC, constitutes an "implicit form of authorisation" in the eyes of the children."</i><br /><br />You all know <a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,10527">where I stand on this issue</a>, so I won't repeat myself. What's interesting about this article to me is that the answers the children give about why they pirate digital content are eerily similar to the answers I've heard adults give - and I think that says a lot. ;-)