Hietanen and Räsänen (2009)
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Source Details
Hietanen and Räsänen (2009) | |
Title: | Reasons Affecting Frequency of File-sharing among Finnish Internet Users |
Author(s): | Hietanen, H., Räsänen, P. |
Year: | 2009 |
Citation: | Hietanen, H. and Räsänen, P. (2009). Reasons Affecting Frequency of File-Sharing among Finnish Internet Users. SSRN Electronic Journal. |
Link(s): | Definitive , Open Access |
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About the Data | |
Data Description: | 6,083 complete responses from P2P survey data collected by Hietanen, Huttunen and Kokkinen (2007), through a questionnaire on three online newspaper sites, Sep-Oct 2007. Two sites were focused on ICT-related issues; one on business and economics. The study was conducted to sample only the Finnish file sharing community. |
Data Type: | Secondary data |
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Cross Country Study?: | No |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | |
Government or policy study?: | |
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Abstract
The article examines file-sharing behaviour on illegal file-sharing services. We build on an Internet survey (N=6,083) we conducted to Finnish users in 2007. Using the survey data we examine how the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics associate the file-sharing. We also examine whether knowledge of law has any impact on file-sharing behaviour. We find that the frequent and the infrequent P2P-users share several common attributes with each other. Frequent users are clearly more often male than female, are younger, and possess lower educational qualifications than infrequent users. The results also indicate that the people who are active in P2P-users have weaker legal knowledge about digital copyright issues. The findings and the use of the survey method carry implications for legal and social science scholar work that examines the illegal file-sharing phenomenon.
Main Results of the Study
Frequent P2P file-sharers / downloaders are:
- Significantly likely more often to be male than female – 2.4:1 in this sample
- Significantly more likely to be in a younger age group (age ≤ 24) when compared with those in the oldest age group (age > 35)
- More likely to have lower educational qualifications than infrequent P2P users
- More likely to have weaker legal knowledge about digital copyright issues than infrequent P2P users.
Those who disagree with the statement that it is condemnable to share unauthorized files are much more likely (3.5:1) to be frequent P2P users than those who agree. In addition, those respondents who feel neutral about this statement are also more often frequent users when compared to disagreeing respondents (almost 1.9:1).
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
Rights owners who want to affect illegal file sharing should concentrate their efforts on changing the moral values of 18 to 24 year-old males. However, this might be an impossible task, partly because illegal file sharing is experienced as either as a victimless crime, or one where the victim is seen as a rich and remote “Hollywood star”.
The results partly explain why the Pirate movement in Scandinavia has its strongest support in its youth chapters. Young adults don’t have moral obstacles when demanding the legalisation of file sharing, and don’t see that their actions cause harm. This is the reason why rights owners’ attempts to change moral values has had only a limited impact on file sharing.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 6,083 |
Level of aggregation: | P2P users in Finland |
Period of material under study: | 2007 |