WHEN BUYING ISN’T ACTUALLY OWNING

James Klusener

@jamesklusener

 

Over the past couple of weeks, many people on the internet have reported that one of the biggest book piracy websites has either gone down or become severely unreliable. According to ScreenRant, the site appears to have shut down, and readers who relied on it became frustrated. 

 

The more interesting conversation that followed, however, was about the morality of piracy. Is it ethical? When does it become morally wrong? Many people consider piracy to be stealing because, when you download a book without paying for it, the author, publisher and bookseller all lose out on potential revenue.

 

On the other hand, books are expensive. Should the joy of reading be limited to those who can afford it? You might argue that libraries solve this problem, and to some extent they do. Libraries are an invaluable public resource, but not everyone has access to one.

 

Across discussions on platforms like Threads and TikTok, many of those opposed to piracy came from wealthier countries and regions, such as the United States and Europe, where the chances of living near a public library are much higher. While South Africa has great libraries, they are few and far between.

 

A popular quote often shared online is, “If buying isn’t owning, then piracy isn’t stealing.” It refers to the idea that, when we pay for something online, whether it’s music, TV shows or software, we’re often paying for a limited licence to use it, rather than actually owning it.

 

Piracy is wrong and should be avoided, but is it too much to ask for ebooks that are more accessible, more widely available, and less restricted in how they can be used? Ironically, piracy is sometimes the easiest way to get an ebook and actually do with it what you please. It feels like ownership, rather than navigating complicated workarounds to obtain it legally, only to be restricted by ecosystems and copyright.

 

Until publishers begin prioritising universal access, fair regional pricing and true digital ownership over restrictive ecosystems, piracy will remain less a failure of consumer ethics and more a symptom of a broken system – a system in desperate need of change.

 

The same issues apply to streaming TV shows and movies. According to MyBroadband, since Showmax shut down in April, HBO content has not been available in South Africa. So, if you want to watch the latest season of ‘Hacks’ or ‘Game of Thrones’, you’re out of luck.

 

It’s a similar story with movies. In South Africa, some movies simply aren’t available to stream or even rent through services like Google TV or Apple TV. What is someone expected to do in that situation?

 

What are you expected to do when something you want to consume ethically isn’t available through ethical means? Does that justify piracy? No, it doesn’t. But it does help explain why piracy has become so popular.

 

One of the most common examples is students and textbooks. When the required material for a module includes a book that costs well over R1,000, sometimes much more, it’s no surprise that so many students turn to piracy. Pirated textbooks are often easier to study with too, as they can be uploaded into tools like NotebookLM (now Gemini Notebook) to generate summaries, flashcards and study guides.

 

After speaking to students on campus, many admitted to pirating the majority of their textbooks, with some even saying they hadn’t bought a textbook in over a year. Many students cited financial constraints as the main reason, while others pointed to how accessible pirated textbooks are, whether through group chats or websites online.

 

And it’s easy to understand why. University is already a major financial investment: tuition, accommodation, food and living expenses all add up. Adding expensive textbooks to that list, when free alternatives exist online, makes the decision much more complicated. It’s difficult to apply moral principles when you’re forced to make tough financial choices.

 

A photo of OceanofPDF having shut down (Source: TikTok).

 

Edited by Isabel Burgers