Half of young Norwegians say online piracy is an acceptable way to save money
Half of young Norwegians now view online piracy as an acceptable way to save money, reflecting broader frustration with how digital media is sold and controlled. Commenters contrast non-rival digital copying with physical theft, question what it means to “own” a movie, song, or ebook when access can be revoked or geolocked, and argue that restrictive licensing and fragmented streaming push otherwise willing customers toward piracy. Others worry that normalizing piracy devalues art and harms smaller creators, even as they acknowledge that current business models often feel exploitative.
Piracy vs Stealing and Nature of Ownership
- Several comments challenge the idea that “downloading = stealing,” emphasizing that copying data doesn’t deprive the original holder.
- Others counter that harm can be systemic rather than direct deprivation (e.g., bank fraud is just changing information but still theft).
- Ownership is framed as a social/legal construct: a bundle of rights that can be restricted. Debate centers on when a “sale” is real ownership vs. a license.
- Physical goods (cars, books, houses) are used to argue both that ownership always has limits and that seller-imposed post-sale control is qualitatively different.
Digital Media, DRM, and Consumer Experience
- Strong frustration with DRM, geo-locking, revocable “purchases,” and streaming platforms deleting paid content.
- Many say they’d gladly pay for truly owned, downloadable files (like DRM-free music or some audiobooks), but current video platforms rarely offer that.
- Piracy is often described as providing a superior user experience: offline access, no geo-locking, permanence.
Ethical Arguments For and Against Piracy
- Pro-piracy arguments:
- Non-rival nature of digital goods.
- High prices and fragmentation make legal access unreasonable.
- Poorer people and those in restrictive markets wouldn’t have paid anyway, so “lost sales” are overstated.
- Access to culture and knowledge is framed as a social good.
- Anti-/skeptical views:
- Piracy deprives creators (especially small ones) of revenue.
- Normalizing piracy risks devaluing art and leading to a “race to the bottom” similar to mobile apps.
- Some suggest simply not consuming unaffordable media instead.
Streaming Fragmentation, Pricing, and Access
- Multiple complaints about needing many subscriptions to cover desired content, especially sports.
- Norwegian commenters note that live sports (e.g., Premier League, winter sports) are heavily pirated due to high prices or missing legal options.
Piracy, LLMs, and Consistency
- One subthread contrasts people who defend pirating media but condemn training AI on copyrighted works.
- Some argue that, under principles like “information wants to be free,” both personal piracy and training models on copyrighted data should be acceptable; otherwise, positions look self-serving.
- Others lean on traditional ideas of fair use/education to justify humans learning from copyrighted works and extend that analogy to AI.
Organized Crime and Corporate Power
- The claim that piracy “supports organized crime” is widely mocked as fear-based messaging.
- Some argue that large media conglomerates themselves engage in or cover up serious wrongdoing, making moralizing about piracy hypocritical.