Europe's children carry on downloading

 

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Posted on 14 Aug 2007 at 09:34

Europe's children are not convinced that file sharing is either illegal or even wrong. And many of them think it is okay to download music and video for free because their parents do it.

These are among the findings of an European Union survey of attitudes to the Internet among children in the EU's 27 member states, plus Norway and Iceland.

The EU found that in the vast majority of cases children know that most of the downloads are illegal, but they minimise, deny or justify the practice.

The respondents said that whether downloading is "illegal" or not is not always clear and because "everyone does it" justifies it and reduces the likelihood of getting caught. And as long as the download is for personal and private purposes, it is not as serious as systematic recording for commercial purposes such as producing counterfeit discs.

Children also said that the fact that their parents download from unauthorised sources suggests that they have permission to do the same. They reject the idea that it harms artists as "not very admissible and not very credible". As for the alternative: CDs and DVD are too expensive, and most children cannot afford them, the survey says.

The following quotations typified the responses.

"It's illegal, but it does not look like it is illegal", according to a Danish boy. A Finnish boy suggested that only uploading is illegal.

"Downloading is illegal, it is not punishable whereas sharing the files is punishable," he said.

And according to a Norwegian girl, "Dad does it all the time"

A British boy suggested that if the material is available, then it must be legal.

"I don't really feel guilty," he said. "It wouldn't be on the Internet if it was like really illegal, they wouldn't have it there."

But in the end it all comes down to money.

"They have a lot of money. They don't need my money," a Czech boy insisted.

An Italian agreed: "Singers and actors are rich enough."

But it was left to a Portuguese boy to come up with the best excuse.

"We pay because we are spending megabits," he said

The survey concludes that for for the "very large majority", there is a considerable feeling of impunity and a conviction that downloading is legitimate if not legal. Only a minority said they were aware that it could do any harm.

Almost all said that they are prepared to carry on downloading with impunity. To most the risk of downloading a virus seems to be more dissuasive than the risk of legal proceedings.

"This is the first time children all across Europe have been asked directly how they use online technologies, how much they browse for fun and for schoolwork, and how they deal with risks," says Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. "It is encouraging to see Europe's youth embrace digital technologies so confidently. The capability of making active use of new media is key for the development of a knowledge-based society in Europe. At the same time, these survey results underline Europe's need for proactive online media education. We must also continue to raise awareness about the opportunities and risks of new media, especially among parents."

The full results of the survey are available in the Eurobarometer on Safer Internet for Children report.

Author: Simon Aughton