Linking copyright violation and terrorism is back. "Film Piracy, Organized Crime, and Terrorism" (pdf) starts by linking pirates and gangsters, claiming to have found:
compelling evidence of a broad, geographically dispersed, and continuing connection between film piracy and organized crime.
The Rand study goes on to leap onto terrorism:
Moreover, three of the documented cases provide clear evidence that terrorist groups have used the proceeds of film piracy to finance their activities.
Torrentfreak does a good job of taking this apart. One key piece: the study explicitly conflates counterfeiting and copyright infringement. Also important is the loose linkage between different people, functions, and crimes.
Why this matters: policy-makers use such studies. Check out, for instance, the report's recommendations for action, and imagine some bad outcomes:
a call to cooperation in the battle against intellectual-property theft for law enforcement and
governments around the world. ...
governments around the world. ...
- Increased political will
- Strong legislation
- Consistent enforcement
- Deterrent sentencing
- Innovative solutions.
One would do much better to sit down with Misha Glenny's excellent, if oddly named, McMafia (2008).
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