Advocates of Bill C-61 say it will only target heavy traffickers of pirated content and not the average citizen who makes a few illegal copies for private use. Canadians caught downloading illegal material, such as an MP3 song or video, will be subjected to statutory damages of $500 per incident. However, if a defendant testifies they were unaware they infringed on copyright, the fine could be reduced to $200.
So who are these pirates? They're millennials - people born between 1980 and 1994. And they really don`t care about Bill C-61.
Over at teen social networking site Nexopia, they`re running a poll on whether members would stop downloading music if Bill C-61 made it illegal. 25,000 teens have responded and 88% said NO. Great sample size and proof enough that "millennials" are officially hardwired to consume vast amounts of media online and for free. No bill will change that.
