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Hoist the black flag

The major media companies in the US would like everyone to believe that access to filesharing sites would cause people to stop buying legitimate works. If you look at the actual research (as opposed to the propaganda from the media companies), this is simply not true. Of course, if you buy enough politicians are a job creator, you can get anything passed, so despite facts to the contrary, laws were passed in the US to punish anyone who dared to use a filesharing site.

Switzerland chose a different route. Given that the data suggested that filesharing sites present no harm to content creators, they decided that there was no reason to punish users of file download sites. Filesharing in Switzerland is completely legal. This, of course, mightily pissed off the media companies, and Switzerland was added to the Office of US Trade Representative's copyright "naughty list", known as the US Special 301 report. 

To punish Switzerland for its impertinence, the media companies severely delay and limit what media can be purchased here. Television shows and movies are released years after they're released in the US. Anyone who wants to watch them before then has to get them from a filesharing site. 

Like most people who use filesharing sites, I want to support artists and companies that I like. I donate to NPR, I support Patreon campaigns, and I'm happy to buy movies and TV shows that I enjoy. 

As I change the address on my accounts from US to CH, I lose the ability to pay for media. If I want to listen to a song or watch a movie within a year of it being released, my only option is to download it for free on a filesharing site. It's ironic that the RIAA and MPAA are basically forcing an entire country to not pay for their products.

Fortunately, there are alternatives.


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