In the last couple of years one thing that I have noticed is that the internet is certainly not what it was supposed to be when it started. The dream, that internet could be a place to share thoughts and ideas that can help shape a better future, has proved to be nothing more than a dream. When asked to name the first five websites that came to mind, a teenager cannot think past the social, entertainment, downloading and only then gives some recognition to, the last and definitely the least the, educational websites.
When we look at the western nations, we witness a cyber space that runs under the law, at least to some extent. On the contrary the internet in Pakistan is out of all bounds. Here the piracy rate, I believe, is the highest in the world and internet is the greatest cause of that. For instance, a movie that releases on a particular day can be watched online in just the next 24 hours of its release and the best part is that it is free of cost. And it gets better; one can always make copies of the downloaded movie and sell it in the ever prospering market.
The issue has so gotten into the bones of the public that it does not seem wrong anymore. However if we dig deep into it we see that due to the ever rising piracy rate in Pakistan, the local and the foreign production companies are losing millions every year. Not to forget that this affects the little guys more than the “fat” producers. Thousands of people who play their part to make a movie successful have their jobs at risk because the employing companies can no longer afford the ever increasing losses.
The main purpose of the law of copyright is to guard the labor and skill of persons convoluted in several pitches of creative work. Consequently Pakistan Government should move forward to evade these circumstances, and help in prospering our country.
MEHWISH PETER,
Lahore, December 5.