Stephen Fry Panders to Small-time File Sharers

This man had, earlier this year, lent his name to Lord Carter’s Digital Britain. Today, he has once again come into lime light by delivering an impassioned critique of the over-aggressive approach of the entertainment industry. Another significant move by Cyberhero Stephen Fry that followed the criticism, was an admission to having used BitTorrent to download some content, and illegally too.

He commented that the entertainment industry’s stance was wrong. According to him, the industry was aggressively pursuing the file-sharers on one side, while maintaining a high price for the official content on the other. He berated the proposal by saying that only a wilfully blind person could believe the theory that someone downloading a TV episode was as bad as someone who filches a handbag.

In the process, he also admitted to resorting to BitTorrentfor downloading an episode of the Hugh Laurie starrer TV series,’ House’. However, he also revealed that he had already subscribed to it for viewing. Hugh Laurie was the old comedy partner of the actor-writer.

Irony is that Fry had been present in the UK government’s Digital Britain concept launch that took place in April. He had also watched the delivery of a proposed legislation then, including certain controversial measures such as engaging Ofcom to preside over the persistent file sharers’ forced bandwidth limitation. Strange that he did not notice it then that such a move could contradict the government’s catch word that ‘broadbandis a human right’.

The present outburst from Fry had come at a Roundhouse iTunes Festival in London. Fry was, on the occasion speaking as a warm-up act for the music fans. Fry seemed to be having realised the fact that he might have started something controversial, after leaving the stage. This was apparent from his subsequent tweet, “Hope I am not misunderstood”. He continued tweeting that it was such a pity, if he was misrepresented as an advocate to “be a pirate by helping yourself” concept.

Rory Cellan-Jones, a BBC blogger has reported an incidence at the iTunes Festival that someone in the audience pointed out that an instruction was given earlier to the audience to refrain from using recording devices; one which was ignored by almost everyone of the audience with the moral support of the man on the stage.

Fry’s outburst on the system, however was against weighing the ordinary people, in the same parameters used for industrial scale illegal downloaders. He also treaded ahead by slamming the Digital Britain final report for reflecting too many industrial views, as against the views of the general public. The entertainment industry was also criticised by him for being an overpaid and molly coddled business.

Fry’s comments have evoked mixed reactions amongst the public. Although many voices from the proletariat have lauded the move of the comic icon for supporting the cause of the common music fan, there also exists a few sceptics who believe that the man might be pandering through a lip service. What is interesting to watch in the time ahead, is the way the entertainment industry would take the criticism.