Movie Industry Ethics Gaffes Haven’t Affected Public Image – Yet

Among heavy-duty downloaders, the covert purchase of executive e-mails by the Motion Picture Association of America is evidence of corrupted ethics and ostrich-like behavior.

To the public, will it make any difference? Nobody really expects movie executives to behave nicely. They just want to see their movies.

The long-term question is whether the MPAA can keep its reputation from being damaged as badly as the Record Industry Association of America (suing children and single moms, etc.). So far, their decision to focus on the producers of pirated DVDs and the companies that enable distribution of files is a smarter move than the RIAA’s vigorous lawsuits against individual consumers.

The purchase of e-mails from a former employee of a downloading company the MPAA is suing has the same stench as Hewlett Packard’s invasion of journalists’ privacy, but their target was a company they accuse of enabling illegal activity, so their reputation is less likely to be as heavily damaged as the computer maker’s. Whether the MPAA will prevail in court is another matter.

The MPAA has been campaigning for public support for its anti-piracy cause, using endorsements from movie industry workers in their advocacy ads. Plus, the tone of the ads aimed at purchasers of pirated DVDs appeals to their ethics, rather than accusing them of criminal activity.

In the absence of a large public outcry against sleazy tactics in their lawsuit, the MPAA’s reputation could yet emerge unscathed in this latest skirmish. Given their overall advertising and PR strategy, that’s not surprising.

Tags: mpaa, movies, piracy, anti-piracy, torrents, downloading, riaa, hewlett packard, lawsuits, privacy, email