Stallman provides a clear and intelligent summary of why copyright should be scaled back on the Internet. ‘By contrast, copying useful, enlightening or entertaining information for a friend makes the world happier and better off; it benefits the friend, and inherently hurts no one. It is a constructive activity that strengthens social bonds. [… Publishers incorrectly call this “loss” …] The same consequence can result if your friend decides to play bridge instead of reading a book. In a free market system, no business is entitled to cry “foul” just because a potential customer chooses not to deal with them.’
It’s a sad fact that with the enslaught of misinformation I find myself needing to reread things like this to remember that copying MP3s is not morally wrong.