The Law Is An Ass

That title got your attention, didn't it? Although this quote is taken from Charles Dickins' Oliver Twist, it is now being related to new media, particularly the area of property.  Behind the struggle for rights is the struggle for benefits and the redistribution of wealth.  For the government and corporations to maintain power, it needs a code to reinforce it.  This can be seen through the role that policy has by being played by the government through "don't steal" campaigns that seek to shape citizen behaviour.

The role of the CRTC is to find a balance between the interests of the citizens and corporations.  While this is a nice notion to think about, it's not the reality.  Regulatory capture occurs when policies pay more attention to the needs of companies like Bell and Shaw Media rather than the public. This is a sad truth, and is especially relevant to the whole issue of Usage-Based Billing that happened not too long ago.

A hot topic right now is the debate of whether ACTA (The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) should be implemented. A section of ACTA is dedicated to copyright infringement on the internet and seeks to become the regulatory capture of the US by cracking down on our "illegal behaviour".  

We're moving into an era where the government can disconnect your internet connection if you are found guilty of copyright infringement (e.g. downloading and distributing content like movies and music).  As much as the government tries to tell us "don't steal", it doesn't alter our behaviour one bit!  To combat this, the government and corporations are trying to crack down on our file-sharing behaviour by taking individuals to court.  In short, court is a user pay system where only the wealthy can win.  Individuals are going up against corporations in court that are recognized as persons, not a company. Not a very fair system, right?

What I'm trying to say is that the more corporations control the content, the more they shape our culture, values and behaviour.  We pursue happiness and our identities through the consumption of corporate products.