In Coshocton County, Ohio, hundreds of people were enjoying free Internet connection for years. Suddenly it's been shut down because of suspicion of one illegal download conducted by an unidentifiable person.
The Coshocton Tribune reports that the Sony Pictures Entertainment, member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), informed the county's ISP about the suspicion. Let's skip the question if the suspicious activity was really illegal – it could be, it could be not. But even if it was an act of theft, is it the appropriate action to punish innocent people for that? Would anyone opt for closing down a music shop if somebody stole a DVD there? Would anyone opt for closing down a cinema if somebody illegally records a film using a camcorder there?
Elizabeth Kaltman, vice president of corporate communications with the MPAA, quoted by
the Coshocton Tribune, states:
We target piracy at its source. We really focus on keeping the product out of the market in the first place.
The source of the pirated movie, downloaded later by one of the users of Coshocton County's free Wi Fi conection, is a person who illegally posted its copy on the website. MPAA should try to shut down this website and punish this person, instead of threatening the county's Internet provider and depriving hundreds of innocent people of the possibility of using the Internet. Yes, it's harder to track down a person who really stole the film, but if police are not able to catch a car thief, should it postulate to ban using the cars in the entire area?
