Key Point
| Perspective | Key points |
|---|---|
| Against piracy | Creators lose income, future creation discouraged, malware risk, illegal under Copyright law |
| Arguments sometimes made for piracy | Cost/access issues, DRM restrictions, culture-sharing argument, mixed evidence on legal purchasing behaviour |
| Balanced exam conclusion | Piracy is illegal and harmful, but pricing/accessibility concerns should still be addressed by industry |
Offensive Communications
Definition
Offensive communications are messages sent online that are abusive, threatening or hateful, such as trolling, cyberbullying and hate speech.
Key Point
Why technology makes the problem worse:
• Messages can be sent anonymously or from fake accounts, so the sender is hard to trace
• A message can reach a huge audience in seconds and is hard to remove once it has been shared
• It can reach the victim at any time and in any place, which can seriously harm their mental health
The issues to discuss:
• In the UK, laws such as the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003 make it an offence to send grossly offensive or threatening messages
• Platforms can moderate and remove content, but the volume means much of this is automated, so some harmful posts are missed and some harmless ones are removed
• Removing content has to be balanced against freedom of speech, and people disagree about what counts as offensive
• Senders and platforms may be in other countries, where different laws apply
• Messages can be sent anonymously or from fake accounts, so the sender is hard to trace
• A message can reach a huge audience in seconds and is hard to remove once it has been shared
• It can reach the victim at any time and in any place, which can seriously harm their mental health
The issues to discuss:
• In the UK, laws such as the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003 make it an offence to send grossly offensive or threatening messages
• Platforms can moderate and remove content, but the volume means much of this is automated, so some harmful posts are missed and some harmless ones are removed
• Removing content has to be balanced against freedom of speech, and people disagree about what counts as offensive
• Senders and platforms may be in other countries, where different laws apply