Pro-file-sharing video from European Green Party

The European Green Party — which controls about ten percent of the continentwide vote — has put together a PSA in support of file-sharing and new laws that legalize the activity. Called "I Wouldn't Steal," it's an answer to the terrible "You wouldn't steal a car" nagware ads that run at the beginning of your store-bought DVDs (Hey, MPA, here's a hint: if I went to the store and bought the DVD, you don't really need to lecture me on the evils of downloading. I bought the DVD).

Whenever you rent a movie, the multinational media industry forces you to watch their propaganda. They claim that [downloading movies is the same as snatching bags, stealing cars or shoplifting]. That's simply not true – making a copy is fundamentally different from stealing.

The media industry has failed to offer viable legal alternatives and they will fail to convince consumers that sharing equals stealing. Unfortunately, they have succeeded in another area – lobbying to adapt laws to criminalize sharing, turning consumers into criminals. They argue that their laws are necessary to [support artists], but in reality all they're protecting is their own profits.

Link

(Thanks, David!)

See also: IT Crowd Season 2, Episode 3: Great anti-piracy PSA sendup