But empathy for motives isn’t the same as excusing the harm. Piracy undermines revenues that support films, music, and the wider arts ecosystem. It disincentivizes risk-taking: fewer resources flow to original stories, smaller producers struggle to recoup budgets, and the people whose labor makes movies—writers, technicians, actors—lose earnings. Moreover, many piracy channels expose users to malware, privacy risks, and scams. Normalizing these behaviors has concrete costs.
But empathy for motives isn’t the same as excusing the harm. Piracy undermines revenues that support films, music, and the wider arts ecosystem. It disincentivizes risk-taking: fewer resources flow to original stories, smaller producers struggle to recoup budgets, and the people whose labor makes movies—writers, technicians, actors—lose earnings. Moreover, many piracy channels expose users to malware, privacy risks, and scams. Normalizing these behaviors has concrete costs.