Piracy is a Crime?

The internet is replete with downloadable music, movies, programs, and the like, and while I would love to take advantage of all the "free" stuff I can download online, i really am not able to. Not because of any moral scruples, but mostly because I cannot figure out how to. I know it’s not a very conscientious reason, but I think the idea that one is stealing when one downloads something is pretty much out there. On the practical side of things, considering that most of our population can barely make ends meet, it is almost too easy to choose downloading over purchasing something you can get for free, if you know where to look. On the legal side of it, enforcement is practically impracticable. While pirated DVDs and computer programs operate on the same idea, i.e., stealing, authorities are able to give more attention to them because one can easily confiscate physical DVDs, as well as make use of these as evidence. I don’t imagine the police banging on doors cracking down on illegal downloaders anytime soon. In the Philippines, at least. On the international level, however, governments are becoming more aggressive in prosecuting downloaders, and who knows, maybe in a couple of years, ours might follow suit. In the meantime, a lot of us can download in peace, if we don’t necessarily equate downloading to stealing, that is.