38% of UK WEB USERS THINK ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS ARE LESS SERIOUS THAN SHOPLIFTING

38% of people feel that illegally downloading music or movies is not as serious as stealing CDs or DVDs from a high street retailer, says global market research specialist TNS.

A new survey revealed that although there is an understanding that something needs to be done about illegal downloads, 74% of people feel uncomfortable with the idea of a Government body monitoring their internet usage in respect to media files.

Last month France outlined its proposed policy to crack down on internet piracy of music and movies. When TNS asked if such a policy should be adopted in the UK, the nation is divided with 35% of people agreeing it should be deployed here and 39% thinking it should not.

According to Amy Cashman, Head of Technology for TNS UK, “I can understand why, as a nation, we are divided in our views on deploying this type of policy on unauthorised internet usage in the UK. On one hand we understand that the media business is suffering as a result of those people who abuse the internet, but on the other, we feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea that someone could be ‘monitoring’ what we do online. There is also the question of whether the punishment fits the crime."



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