Don’t Tread on Me- Plagiarism Infringes on My Freedom
by matthewjcarlin
In order for us, as members of society, to progress we must focus on issues of morality, ethics and even governance. For that, I would deplore for the class to dive into Jonathan Lethem’s conversation on plagiarism in his work The Ecstasy of Influence. Lethem clearly labels the potential threat that plagiarism has on the future of society and the creative processes that follow in the somewhat diminished arts. Addressing the concerns over the “powerhouse” copyright firms and entertainment agents that sue over royalties, I would agree that the concepts at work need to be reworked and even go as far as amending the current situation that many artists and media outlets are facing as we speak. I, or course, refer to the ongoing scandals that are plaguing websites such as Instagram, Youtube and even Twitter. Every hour it is estimated that over one hundred thousand media publications (of more commonly referred to as “posts”) are flagged as copy right infringement or plagiarism. I would reference the LegalZoom document I outline in the previous assignment for those unfamiliar with the somewhat controversy surrounding social media.
I firmly believe that the legalities that have been addressed in the YouTube and Twitter controversies are of extreme importance especially for my generation who is one of the most subscribed users of such social websites and one of the main contributors as well. Currently in an age where simply clicking “google search” will get one over a million results, plagiarism and proper citation has been an issue. Up until recently it would seem that the issue was under control, but now copyrights are becoming more and more skewed and we see people as young as 16 being sued for copyright infringement! A question to ask you is, “What do I post online, really?” “Do I own what I say?” or even “Could I be sued for that ““comment””?”. What can we do? What should we do? Question that anyone who has signed up for Facebook or Twitter should be asking themselves before they find themselves directly involved in this outright attack on our freedom for information. It is with great fervor that I beseech you all to dive into this blatant infringement on our freedom and to pave a way for clearer lines on plagiarism and originality.