BSA: The RIAA’s Illegitimate Second Cousin

It’s amazing how much some constructs that begin for a good reason, soon become unwieldy and overbearing, forgetting their original purpose, and doing more harm than good.

The Recording Industry Association of America, and its like-minded twin, the Motion Picture Association of America, began as protectors of the the artists that were the actual generators of content – the single  reason for their genesis. They have become entities unto themselves, feeding on the people who run afoul of the law, as well as the artists and others who are ostensibly served.

In a similar fashion, the Business Software Alliance grew out of a want of the software producers to contain the illegal use of their intellectual property. This was of course, a good idea, but it too became unwieldy and unfocussed. The same company that gave us the “Don’t Copy That Floppy” campaign in the late 1980s and 1990s is now back at it again.

With inflated figures that could obviously only be estimated the BSA begins another tale  (from slashdot) -

“Individuals are turning to P2P networks and auction sites in staggering numbers to acquire or transfer illegal software and in doing so are harming the economy whilst exposing themselves to malware, identity theft and criminal prosecution, according to a report from the Business Software Alliance. Beyond P2P and auction site piracy, the report also draws correlations between Internet piracy and the spread of malware such as viruses, trojans and spyware, which often exploit vulnerabilities in illegal software that does not benefit from security updates provided by manufacturers. Although the correlation is not universal, geographies with high instances of software piracy suffer from high instances of malware.”

While it’s true that software piracy is a problem, its pervasive nature cannot be exactly quantified, yet the BSA gives a figure of 41% as the number that we should all be aware of.

I don’t mind the BSA’s stated mission, but I do mind the methods it uses. It tries scare tactics, stating that viruses and trojans are carried by software that is pirated. Perhaps partly true, but according to claims by the BSA, it is exclusively so.

This is hardly the case.

The BSA also reminds us that software piracy causes higher software prices, a claim which sounds good at first, but fails in the same way that similar claims fail. I live in California. In California a few years ago, we were subjected to a campaign where it became illegal to drive without insurance. This was a good idea, because no one wants to have their policy go up, or be cancelled because of an accident caused by an uninsured motorist. Where the logic failed is where the BSA’s logic breaks down as well. We were told that, when everyone had insurance, insurance premiums would go down for all – 30% was the figure given. More than 10 years on and I’m still waiting for that premium drop, and I’m sure you know my chances of getting it. (I have a great driving record, btw)

So, what the BSA is shopping is that we will see software prices go down as a result of less piracy. Good luck on that one. Should the entire nation come into compliance, we would see no reduction in software pricing, for two reasons. The first is greed, a human frailty, that gnaws at most everyone. The second is, should the software companies decide that they could charge less, the BSA would increase its fees, stating that it was needed to maintain the compliance of all.

So what happens is that, one way or the other, no amount of money recouped by full compliance is going to fuel lower software prices. This is the big lie perpetuated by all of these constructs, and in each case, no one, other than rubes and their own disillusioned members believe it.

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