According to the National Crime Prevention Council, DoJ, and BJA online piracy causes not only child labor, but funds gangs and drug trades.
Now that you’ve had a good laugh one might ask if the NCPC was smoking a bit of weed during the story planning for their latest PSA, “Premonition”. Perhaps they went a little bit mad from all of that reefer even.
On November 29, 2011 (day after Cyber Monday) Attorney General Eric Holder presented their new campaign to thwart intellectual property (IP). Among his opening remarks, and the premier of their new PSA were additional “facts” on how IP crimes affect our society:
Make no mistake: IP crimes are anything but victimless. For far too long, the sale of counterfeit, defective, and dangerous goods has been perceived as “business as usual.” But these and other IP crimes can destroy jobs, suppress innovation, and jeopardize the health and safety of consumers. In some cases, these activities are used to fund dangerous – and even violent – criminal enterprises and organized crime networks. And they present a significant – and growing – threat to our nation’s economic and national security.
Further, Holder went on to discuss the shutdown and blocking of dozens of sites that host pirated and legitimate content alike.
In fact, just yesterday – on what’s known as ‘Cyber Monday’ and billed as the busiest on-line shopping day of the year, leaders from the Justice Department, the FBI, ICE, and our U.S. Attorney community announced the results of our latest effort to disrupt the online sale of counterfeit goods. As part of a long-running law enforcement operation, known as ‘In Our Sites,’ we seized 150 domain names of websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and copyrighted works. To date, our joint enforcement activities have shut down 350 websites. And our vigilance in stopping the sale of illegal goods will continue.
For further information, seek Ars Technica’s article where they dub the PSA “Premonition” Reefer Madness for the digital age. However, for the most important of questions how many of you have actually purchased a physical item that was pirated? It’s more likely that people are downloading content rather than purchasing bootlegged copies.
I am a Communications Marketing Specialist for GovWin, a social media addict, the founder of a communications consulting firm that offers free assistance to the world, and dedicated to empowering everyone. 
