Teens Speak Blog

A few weeks ago, I began watching the old television series, "Lost". For those of you who have ever watched it, "Lost" is about a group of people who become stranded on a seemingly deserted island after their plane crashed. The plot may sound cliche, but "Lost" is absolutely amazing. I have been hooked to it day and night for the past two weeks.

My friend has started watching it as well. Though we both own Netflix, my friend occasionally watches it online. This got me thinking; do we have a right to view television shows or other copyrighted productions online?

For example, I love the rapper Kid Cudi. Some of his albums are on iTunes, but his mixtape is not. Is it wrong for me to download his mixtape off of a music-sharing sight? I'm unable to buy it on iTunes, and I'm still promoting his music by sharing it with my friends. However, I'm not paying him anything for his work.

Where is the line drawn? Should I be able to watch music videos on Youtube? I'm not paying a cent to watch it, but if someone else posted it, does that make me watching it ok?

There are many fine lines between legal and illegal when it comes to the Internet. Different places have different rules, some sites are copyrighted differently, loopholes exist for certain laws, many common misconceptions occur... It's hard to tell what is right and what is wrong.

So what is legal and illegal? I looked into some common beliefs regarding the legality of web surfing.

Is it legal to download music off of Youtube?

Yes. Because Youtube is a legal source, converting media files is perfectly legal. However, selling the music would be absolutely illegal.

Is it legal to watch tv shows online for free?

Yes. Again, because the site is a legal source, watching tv shows online is legal. However, hosting, creating, or sharing the video is considered a crime.

Is it legal to burn CD's?

Technically it is only legal if you are burning the CD to be used as a personal backup. Sharing the CD with friends is illegal. Borrowing a CD and burning your own playlist is also illegal.

Hopefully this cleared up common downloading misconceptions. If you ever doubt the legality of a downloading/viewing act, please research the act before you commit it. People have gone to jail for theft from illegally downloading music.

posted by Teens Online at 1:32     0 comments