What have all of the above have in common? It’s all bullshit. Especially the wardrobe bit.
Organisations such as FACT, the Creative Coalition Campaign, the BPI, and others are currently spewing a load of made-up figures in order to put the frighteners into MPs to ensure that the Digital Economy Bill is passed through parliament. Made-up figures I hear you cry? Well, apparently so. Ben Goldacre has been doing a bit of digging as to how the creative industry has come to these figures. It’s compelling reading. Also see this blog post from Mo regarding these figures. Again, most definitely worth a read.
I’ve attempted to ask FACT and the Creative Coalition Campaign as to why they’re standing behind these figures and how they themselves believe in them, I’ve been met with stony silence. Not a word. Nothing. I had some respect for FACT at one point, but if they’re standing behind this report, I’ve just lost some of that respect. Given I earnt pretty well in the six years in the creative/film industry myself and therefore have my own interest in ensuring that piracy is thwarted, even *I* can’t see why these organisations have resulted to spewing such utter bollocks.
If this article from Google/YouTube is to be believed, Viacom have been deliberately attempting to falsify evidence in order to successfully prosecute Google/YouTube over copyright infringement. These tactics only makes the consumer mistrust big media companies, makes them look evil, does their own cause no good, and does nobody any favours whatsoever.
I emailed my local MP regarding the Digital Economy Bill, and this is what was said in their reply (for those that can’t read the squishy version below):
