Celebrity defends file sharing amongst broadband users

A well known celebrity has recently spoken out and defended file sharing amongst broadband users, adding that the entertainment industry has become too aggressive.

Controversy over illegal file sharing has become rife over the last couple of years, with the entertainment industry and Internet Service Providers constantly finding new and inventive ways to stop broadband users from sharing files because of the financial hits that this results in for the entertainment industry.

However, one well known UK celebrity, Stephen Fry, has recently defended file sharing amongst broadband users. Ironically, Fry was one of the faces of Digital Britain earlier this year, having been an official speaker at the launch of the government’s Digital Britain programme in April. However, Fry has stated that the entertainment industry has become too aggressive, adding that the enforcement of copyright by the music and film industries was over the top.

Fry himself admitted to using BitTorrent to download an episode of the US hit series House, which stars Hugh Laurie, Fry’s long time comedy partner. Referring to the anti-piracy advertisements that are run in cinemas, on TV, and on DVDs, he added: “Only someone who was wilfully blind would believe that someone who downloads a TV episode was as bad as someone who steals a handbag.”

Fry was addressing crowds at the recent iTunes Festival, where he was a warm up act, and according to one person: “Someone in the audience pointed out that the tickets for the event told us that we were not allowed to use recording devices – an instruction ignored by just about everyone, with the encouragement of the man on stage.”

Source – www.eweekeurope.co.uk