{"id":485,"date":"2012-01-20T04:51:07","date_gmt":"2012-01-20T12:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internetsafety.trendmicro.com\/?p=485"},"modified":"2012-01-20T04:51:07","modified_gmt":"2012-01-20T12:51:07","slug":"what-to-tell-your-kids-about-online-piracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/blog\/what-to-tell-your-kids-about-online-piracy\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Tell Your Kids About Online Piracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Lynette Owens<\/p>\n

This past Wednesday, Wikipedia and many other online communities decided to blackout their websites for as long as 24 hours in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).\u00a0 These two pieces of U.S. legislation are intended to stop the distribution of pirated music, movies and television shows online.\u00a0 At the moment, due to the protest and concerns voiced by numerous organizations, it currently appears support for these two bills is waning.\u00a0 While many are not necessarily against stopping online piracy, they are strongly opposed to the way these bills propose to address it, as they threaten many things ranging from free speech to privacy to the security of the Internet. (Trend Micro is officially opposed to them.)<\/p>\n

Despite your stance on these two bills, one thing is clear: the music, movie, and television industries have spent a lot of time and money to address piracy.\u00a0 Stronger actions will be taken against those who engage in producing and consuming pirated material in some form. \u00a0In countries like the UK and France, this is already true.\u00a0 And whether or not you believe the music and movie industries are suffering major monetary losses due to rampant piracy, there are important shifts going on that we all need to aware of so we are ready for them and can guide kids accordingly.<\/p>\n

First, to state the obvious, kids love music and movies.\u00a0 Regarding music specifically, teens spend 16 hours a week with it, more than any other form of media according to YPulse.<\/p>\n

Second, there is a shift in obtaining media online and how we consume it.\u00a0 The shift is in attitudes and technology that gives us the opportunity to either own or just access music.\u00a0 It\u2019s the difference between buying specific songs on iTunes and owning them versus paying for a subscription to Rhapsody to hear any song you want.\u00a0 There are many options in both camps, though the newer services fall under the subscription camp.<\/p>\n

Lastly, starting in the summer of 2012, major U.S. internet service providers such as Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast will begin warning you to stop if you are downloading pirated material.\u00a0 This process, sponsored by the RIAA and MPAA, is a minimum 5-step copyright alert system. Unlike, SOPA & PIPA which are directed at producers and distributors, this is directed at consumers. \u00a0\u00a0It is also different from the \u201cthree strikes\u201d rule set in other countries such as the UK & France, which by law forces ISPs to shut off service to a consumer after a few warnings.\u00a0 It is a voluntary initiative that helps to formalize and create consistency across ISPs in how they will alert consumers about downloading illegally copied material.\u00a0 Whether or not you are knowingly doing it, all consumers will be warned a few times before final legal action is taken.<\/p>\n

Given the current landscape and the forces at play, it\u2019s more important now than ever to educate kids about how they get the music and movies they love.\u00a0 Here\u2019s how you can guide them:<\/p>\n

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  1. Explain to them what copyrights are, how they work, and what they are designed to do.\u00a0 A nice resource with a simple, kid-friendly explanation can be found from Coyrightkids.org<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n
  2. Advise them to respect copyrights and download music, movies, etc. from legitimate sources.\u00a0 If a friend tells them about a cool site to get a copy of a new movie or music album, or if they see offers online to download them, make sure they can verify they are from a legitimate source.\u00a0 If they are unsure, tell them to trust their instincts and don\u2019t do it.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  3. Explore and tell them about the options.\u00a0 Some suggestions are below, although there are many more if you spend 5 minutes searching around.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n