Argggg: Christian Pirates and Digital Property

[Edited on January 25, 2014]

Digital piracy

Digital piracy has received considerable attention since the turn of the millennium, when peer-to-peer file sharing was made popular by Napster. Napster's popularity went through the roof almost overnight. It seemed that everyone was doing it, including Christians. On the surface it was ethically acceptable, like someone was simply inviting you into their home and generously giving you their stuff (in this case, media files). That is why it was called "sharing." From childhood, good little boys and girls are taught that sharing is a nice thing. You would have to be a real jerk to say that sharing is bad.

The problem lies in calling it "sharing." It is not sharing at all-it is stealing. Calling it "sharing" is like calling one of those road-side pornography shops an "adult book store." Satan knows that "sharing" and "adult" are much more appetizing than "stealing" and "perverse," but God calls us to "hate what is evil and cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9) Likewise, Isaiah warned Judea, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness..." (Isaiah 5:20) Christians must stop calling it "sharing" and call it what it is-stealing.

Why file "sharing" is really file stealing.

Quite simply, it is not sharing one's own property. It is stealing and giving away someone else's property. Let's say a person buys a leather jacket. You own the jacket and you can do with it what you please. You can wear it, store it, burn it, or line your hamster's cage with it. You can even turn around and sell it for twice what you paid (unless of course it has lined your hamster's cage). You are certainly free to give your jacket to your friend. That is sharing, and it is perfectly acceptable, possibly even commendable.

Media files are different; they are not physical objects. Here is how my very insightful friend Mike B. explained it to me:

Many people have a "cognitive disconnect" between physical objects and digital objects. They are not the same thing. If you buy a CD, you probably think to yourself, "this is mine" and feel that you can do with your CD whatever you please. Here's the problem: the physical disc is yours, but the music on it is not. The disc is simply a delivery device. You can use that disc to play music, to protect your table from cold drinks, or to produce a spectacular light show in your microwave. The music, on the other hand, belongs to someone else, and, by purchasing the CD, you have purchased a license to listen to the music imprinted thereon whenever you want.

Giving away a copy of the music is essentially giving away another license agreement, which someone else owns. The only legal and ethical way to share music is to actually give or sell your license to listen to your friend and not keep a copy for yourself. That way, you're not duplicating a license.

When you "share" your media files (usually music) on peer-to-peer networks (like Limewire) or give away a CD that you have already ripped, you still have the file afterward and you have sacrificed nothing. Real sharing always involves personal sacrifice. You have merely duplicated the license agreement. You may take personal gratification for sharing, but you've done it at the expense of someone else. Someone (in reality, many people) worked hard to produce that file, and they are being denied the fruits of their own labor. (Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:18) Rather than spending money to buy the file (again, a license agreement) for himself, your friend can just get the same product from you for free.

If you copy Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes" (a song I love) and give it to Sally, you have essentially stolen .99 cents worth of license agreement from Jack Johnson, as well as his producers, distributors, and whoever else might be involved in the production of that track. Ninety-nine cents may not sound like much, but many people have hundreds or thousands of pirated files on their computers. If you have thousands of pirated books, films, and music tracks, you might as well have stolen a car.

Would you walk into a record store and steal thousands of dollars in merchandise if you could get a way with it? Most people wouldn't think of doing such a thing, but that is exactly what you are doing when you copy a file and "share" it.

Continuing to steal media files reveals a lack of care for God by explicitly breaking His moral law (Exodus 20:15) and for your "neighbor" by stealing his livelihood. By Jesus' estimation, these were the two greatest commandments (Mark 12:29-31), and those who illegally download or share media files are breaking both.

The hypocrisy of Christian pirates

Given that theft is very clearly forbidden by God in the Scriptures (Exodus 20:15), why would Christians engage in such activity or defend it as a moral gray area? Has God not been clear enough? It's in the Ten Commandments, the only words in Scripture that God actually wrote all by himself (without human agency) into stone. (Exodus 24:12) Would it be more clear if he texted it to you? There is clearly no moral ambiguity here.

In a 2004 study commissioned by the Gospel Music Association, and conducted by the Barna Group, 81% of non-Christian teens had engaged in music piracy within the previous 6 months. Christian teens came in at 77%. Only 6% of non-born-again teens expressed that sharing ripped CDs with friends or illegally downloading unauthorized music is morally wrong. The born-again teens were only marginally better at 10%. (The rest of the study can be seen here.)

The most morally egregious of Christian piracy is when Christians purchase pirated copies of digital products from foreign marketplaces while on a mission trip. These types of pirated products are most readily available in lesser developed nations, the sorts of places where we tend to send missionaries. Many times I have been offered pirated copies of music, movies, and programs that friends have picked up on their short-term mission trips. I never accept them. This drips with hypocrisy and leaves a scarlet stain on the pure name of Christ. When we send missionaries into the darkness of the mission field, they are absolutely commanded to be salt and light. Piling more sin upon the system of the people that you're trying to set free from sin through Jesus Christ is the height of hypocrisy. (Romans 6:6,11-12)

Christians must be bold enough to be sacrificial of their own sense of entitlement and speak prophetically to a morally confused society, for the good of that society. It is not about self-righteousness. Rather, it is about being lovingly obedient to our Lord and obediently loving to our neighbors. We also contribute to the well being of society, because we encourage innovation and hard work when we pay for the services and products of others, which we enjoy. Also, the cost of piracy is passed along to those who play by the rules and do not steal their media. Theft drives up the prices of goods in any industry.

For a take on what drives people to piracy, see my friend Alex's blog post.

Practical tips and exhortations to Christians:

• Don't possess any media files that someone didn't pay for directly.
• If you give your friend your old CDs or a thumb drive of files, you should delete any files you kept for yourself.
• Look for free stuff. If any artist wants to produce music or movies and give it away, it is his right to do so. As promotion, many artists do give away their stuff. They may even give it away with free copyright, meaning that you can give it away to your friends. Take advantage of such generosity.
• If you want to introduce your friends to new music, they can listen to it legally on YouTube or Spotify, or you can purchase an iTunes or Amazon card for them. Legal means are readily available, and actually spending money on someone is genuine sharing.
• If you have any media files that you know are pirated, quit making justifications and just destroy them. Repentance is good for the soul, if not for the wallet. (2 Corinthians 7:8-10)
• Don't buy digital products from obviously shady street vendors that are selling at dramatically cut prices. It's either fake or pirated.
• If you want older classics on the cheap, go to a store that sells used CDs. Rip them onto your computer and then destroy the CDs. Do not give them away or resell them.
• Lastly, this goes for all pirates (so listen up, Jack Sparrow), if you can't afford to pay for what you want, whether it be Spanish gold or "Bohemian Rhapsody", you don't get it. You are not entitled to take what is not yours.