Canadians, at least according to the CBC are "are
enraged by Netflix's declared war on cross-border watchers" (CBC).
For those of you who do not use or perhaps even care about
Netflix - the issue is that those Americans who use Netflix have access to a
far greater number of movies and television shows than do those of us who live
in Canada. Some people in Canada think that that is unfair. Some of those
people have found ways to work around the problem by purchasing a second service
that "tricks" Netflix into believing that the watcher lives south of
the border. In the past week or so, Netflix has started to shut down those
secondary services and deny Canadians access to American programs.
It is my understanding that Netflix offers a different range
of programs to different countries based on the royalty negotiations with the
various producers of visual entertainment. In all likelihood - it is just too
expensive for Netflix to pay for access to some programs or movies if the
consumer base is too small. As much as I dislike capitalism - that sounds like
a fairly reasonable reason for Netflix to not provide access to some programs.
According to the CBC - this crackdown on the part of Netflix
to restrict access to only what people have paid for - has caused some
upstanding citizens to gain access to this copyrighted material through illegal
means. They are obtaining the material using bit torrent programs that allow
viewers to download material posted illegally. Somehow those individuals seem
to think it is their right that they should have access to material that they
have not paid for. If people really wanted to watch these programs - they
could. They would just have to pay for it.
When I was teaching - I use to ask my class if it was
alright to shoplift a CD from Wal-Mart. Without exception - the general consensus
was no. It was never clear to me if it was totally wrong because it was immoral
or if because there was a risk of getting caught. When I would ask if it was
okay to pirate music, movies or software - the answer was far less clear. But
the general consensus over hundreds of students, was that it was okay to do so.
When students were asked why it was okay to download a song without paying for
it but not to take it from the store - the answer was almost always -
"everyone does it". The argument that it was never okay to take
something that doesn't belong to you did not resonate with the majority of my
students.
If we lived in a rule-less society - I would understand
people's decision to get what they wanted, when they wanted it at no cost. If
the world that I (and they) lived in had no expectations of anyone being
honest, then it would be normal to steal. If we all lived in a world where no
one was judged for their actions, where no one faced public censor for
stealing then to take without payment would be the norm. But I (and they) don't live in any of those
worlds. Just last week Mike Duffy was found not guilty of fraud etc. Thousands
of Canadians were offended at the judge's ruling. People were upset that Duffy
had taken money if not illegally, certainly without any thought to what was
morally right.
I find it puzzling and disconcerting that people are so
comfortable with this double standard. This standard says that other people
should be judged by the highest standards of morality - but they, themselves are
not; that other people should pay for
the services - but they do not have to; that they deserve full payment for
their skills and services rendered, other people are not.
Instead of waiting for the rich capitalists, the corrupt
politicians or those who are out and out criminals (although there are some who
would argue that all three groups are the same) to change their ways - perhaps
those of us who slightly bend the rules could become just a little bit more
honest ourselves. If the rich and the powerful won't provide leadership - maybe
we should.
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