The Motion Picture Association of America has consistently made college students public enemy number one when it comes to movie piracy. It turns out that maybe it's the MPAA that should go back to school.
In an MPAA-commissioned report in 2005, it claimed 44 percent of the movie industry's losses were due to college students illegally downloading movies. However, Newsweek reports today that the MPAA altered the data to exaggerate the impact of college students.
In plain English, the MPAA blew it big time and likely intentionally lied. In what the MPAA deems "human error" in its research, college students actually account for approximately 15 percent of industry losses, less than half of what the MPAA originally reported.
The MPAA may be admitting to the blunder, but still points out that 15 percent is still a significant number. And I would agree. However, the damage has already been done. Legislation was created specifically because of the MPAA's faulty data, such as the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007.
The bill, if passed into law, would require college campuses to "develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property as well as a plan to explore technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity." Would this bill have been created if the original research data showed 15 percent rather than 44 percent? I'm doubtful that it would.
What this says to me is that the MPAA is willing to exaggerate and massage its data in an attempt to specifically and unfairly target college students. As a college student (with a full and legal DVD library of my own, thank you very much), it saddens me that the MPAA would stoop to this. Not only does it hurt the MPAA's reputation when its mistakes are revealed, but while it is targeting college students for industry losses, the other 85 percent of losses are left unaddressed and ignored. The MPAA is just letting a scapegoat take the blame instead of actually addressing the problem, and that's bad business.
Aw, companies can come up with statistics to prove anything.
Forfty percent of all people know that.
The movie industry is falling behind because it's not keeping up with technology. Young people are embracing new techonologies more quickly than movie's are being made for their mediums.
For example, this article on how there is a race to make videos searchable (http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=525&doc_id=143527)
The MPAA is a bunch of lazy, greedy hacks that are destroying their own industry.
I've no sympathy for the liars.
To Senateor Carl Levin (D-Mi):
So, not only did they lie to everyone, they managed to buy and bribe government officials to pass protectionist laws in order to
protect their outdated business model so their own personal wealth and celestial pay and
bonuses would continue - at everyone else's expense!!
Because of your involvement in this scandal, you now know why I support hackers
Thank god you're up for re-election this year.
To Senateor Carl Levin (D-Mi):
So, not only did they lie to everyone, they managed to buy and bribe government officials to pass protectionist laws in order to
protect their outdated business model so their own personal wealth and celestial pay and
bonuses would continue - at everyone else's expense!!
Because of your involvement in this scandal, you now know why I support hackers
Thank god you're up for re-election this year.
To Senateor Carl Levin (D-Mi): So, not only did they lie to everyone, they managed to buy and bribe government officials to pass protectionist laws in order to
protect their outdated business model so their own personal wealth and celestial pay and
bonuses would continue - at everyone else's expense!!
Because of your involvement in this scandal, you now know why I support hackers
Thank god you're up for re-election this year.
To Senateor Carl Levin (D-Mi): So, not only did they lie to everyone, they managed to buy and bribe government officials to pass protectionist laws in order to protect their outdated business model so their own personal wealth and celestial pay and bonuses would continue - at everyone else's expense!!
Because of your involvement in this scandal, you now know why I support hackers
Thank god you're up for re-election this year.