Microsoft: your children are pirates and proud of it!

Davey Winder
Monday, 21 July 2008 20:00

Business IT - Networking

He argues that young people need to understand why music has value, and why we ask them to use services that pay the music industry. "The music community and government all agree illegal downloading is a serious problem that needs to be addressed" Taylor adds, concluding "we are developing partnerships with internet service providers to advise their customers, create new ways of accessing music legally online and help reduce illegal downloading."

I am not convinced that a generation of kids brought up within a culture of expensive CDs and free online downloads is going to be convinced by the 'because it is the decent thing to do' argument to be honest. The Microsoft survey agrees by revealing that 43 percent of adults considered the purchasing of 'counterfeit goods' as being pretty much the same as any other theft, and went on to claim that they would never knowingly do it. Yet nearly one in four children, however, admitted that they perfectly understood copyright laws but would still continue to buy counterfeit goods. The older kids were even more committed to the pirate life, with 40 percent of 16 year olds stating that they would knowingly buy pirated goods again, and again me hearties...