What can we do about illegal downloading?

First, we need to understand how complex of an issue this is. The reality is that we all have been involved in some sort of illegal downloading. I have to admit that I have done it.  Although there is not a get a way reason for having done it, the main reason for us to do it is because the information is everywhere. Now a day we can share almost anything and we are exposed to others to have access to what we share. I do not think there is a sustainable way to fully stop illegal downloading, but I think that it can be regulated. For instance, last year, the “Copyright Alert System” was launched. The main function of this system was/is to send a letter from user’s ISP letting users knows that a violation has been made.  In other words, as we briefly mentioned in class, your Internet provider will let you know if a violation of privacy was occurred.  This system was first negotiated with the Center for Copyright Information, and while it might not have stopped illegal downloading hundred percent, I think it had an impact on users choices of downloading illegally.  I know for a fact a friend of mine received a letter for downloading the entire music albums with his Internet provider. Did it stop him from doing it again? Yes, at least for a while. Will he do it again? Yes. I think this is a great example of how also depends a lot on the user.  So the first thing to do about this is to ask ourselves is to what extend is too much? We don’t know, but what we know is that although we might not be likely to “get caught,” I think every user is under the risk, and by at least getting notifications from our internet providers, we might think twice about doing it.  We are surrounded by a generation that believes that downloading free music or other media for free is simply possible. Many people do not think the effect that is behind the “download” button. However, I think we also live in a society where we sometimes with simply go after the “free” stuff.

 A second option for this, although it might not seem possible, is to try and reduce the price of the music. Talking from the artist point of view, I would not want to reduce the price that might decrease my revenues. However, by decreasing the price I might also get more revenue as more people might be more likely to buy it as it will be more accessible. I think a big aspect to consider is the artist’s point of view. The government, and us as user, know several of the implications. But I think that artist should also take a stand and they could step in by reducing prices. Although it might not work, at the same time, it also might.

Third, and most obvious to me is to simply try and reduce the incentive to download illegally by making it harder. The main purpose of this is to take the widespread availability of illegal mp3’s by targeting file sharing sites. It’s an option that has actually been applied, but the main problem is that new sites often continue to crop up as long as file sharing continues to be profitable.  Although not an option anymore, I think artist have also the choice to choose what they want users to download for free. I know that websites such as Sound Cloud offer free downloads. Perhaps the most important thing as individuals is to look for ways that in which we can get access to music for free.

Privacy-Enhanced Personalization

The reading “Privacy-Enhanced Personalization,” mentions several privacy concerns that web users have said are important for them. Although I consider all of them to be relevant to how we as users deal with privacy, I personally thing three are the main important. First, I think trust is crucial between websites and its users. Is not so much about what you share and what you don’t, its about what level of trust is out there for whatever you decide to share with a particular website. Based on our level of trust we will choose to share information or not to share information. The credibility of the website is crucial when sharing information. For instance, I shop online on Amazon just because they have made me trust them with the information I have provided to them. This includes national addresses as well as international locations where I have had them deliver me something.

However, it takes time for trust to develop. A second concern that I personally take into much consideration is the presence of a privacy statement. Yes, I think is good and it adds trust to the users. Nevertheless, a lot of the privacy statements are required, legal, or as the reading notes, are “demonstrations of good will.” With this in mind, the fact that a website has a privacy statement that does not completely guarantee privacy. For me this is another concern. We have to be careful when the statements that websites have or don’t have. Lastly, I believe positive past experience play a big role in our concern with privacy. When I travel, for example, I always buy mi tickers from websites such as Orbitz and Kayak. I had never had an issue with them before. In fact, much of my information is already on there. These have been reliable sites for me and as a result my concern about privacy is not as big as if I was using a new site.

The article also talks about privacy attitudes. I would consider myself to be a privacy pragmatist, which is someone generally concerned about their privacy, but to a lesser degree than the privacy fundamentalist. Of course we have to be concern about what information who share on websites, but I also have the belief that as much as privacy as we want to be able to have, the internet will never be fully private. Perhaps this might just be me. This makes me question, do privacy statements actually guarantee privacy?