This weekend, a conversation was sparked on the topic of the Pirate Bay’s founders being sued on the grounds of copyright infringement. My afternoon companion found the zealous with which the founders presented their case surprising, although he did find a few of their arguments compelling. I took the opportunity to rant about the delicate balance we currently reside in, between the democratic power of the market moving to the masses by popularity (google is a great example of that), and large corporations scrambling to establish legal protections that will allow them continue to operate as they have in the 20th century. The latter leads to some rather questionable outcomes — such as the patenting of seeds for farming, stripping farmers the right to keep seeds for next season — which in turn is causing the very customers large business depend on to turn back on them.

I brought up the digital divide as well in this conversation, by using an example of a more ‘traditional’ form of media: documentaries. There are many hilarious documentaries in the 70s and 80s that would not fly today, because the audience is more savvy, more aware. Yet, there is still an overwhelming number of people in this world who do not have the benefit of such awareness, and are susceptible to misinformation. Just look at the number of immigrants that come to Canada, having paid a private firm, not realizing what they were actually signing up for.

The same literacy is necessary for the kinds of information that is available on the internet, as well as the methods through which we arrive at information. Understanding inherent biases in the search engines we use, and the content we consume, is as important as the realization that documentaries are not objective. They have a lot of value in them, but to blindly accept and absorb everything that is fed to us will lead one to believe lemmings dive off cliffs to commit suicide. (I myself was a victim of this documentary.)

I am no expert on the media literacy levels of isolated and rural communities in places like Canada, China, US or Russia. However, I would guess that they are not as sophisticated as they are in urban settings. With the new need for information literacy arising, and with the infrastructure slow to reach those hard-to-reach communities, how do you address that divide before it becomes near impossible to bridge? My concern is that if the divide is not being addressed now, it will be the elephant in the room that keeps growing until we have no choice but simply dispose of it. Hardly a picture of civil responsibility, but there it is.

To bring it back full circle, my companion was sold on the idea that places like the Pirate Bay should be a wake-up call for companies to revise their business model and go back to economic 101: market price is the highest price that the consumer is willing to pay, and the lowest price that a business is willing to let a commodity or service go for. If there are enough people thinking that your products are not worth the money, take a hint and start treating your customers like your customers.