Criminal Society

Most users who own a computer in Hungary are criminals

It's an uncomfortable thought, but most users who own a computer in Hungary are criminals. To make matters worse, many are not even aware of the fact. Thus, little do they realise that a back door exists into their private lives which can be exploited by the authorities whenever they so choose.

While the use of illicit software in Hungary by businesses is estimated at around 50%, in private homes this figure is near 90%. This means, almost everyone who has a computer at home is a latent criminal. The use of illicit software, because it infringes on copyright laws, is considered a criminal offence in Hungary, which can lead to as much as 8 years in prison.

In the past year, the number of raids conducted by the "software police" in search of illicit software has increased substantially. The Pecs 91 case, the pharmaceutical giant EGIS, the town hall in Mosonmagyarorvar, and students at a college in the western Hungary city of Gyor, are just a few examples of the recent crackdown. So far, only mild sentences have been meted out, with the most severe being a suspended sentence. Still, the frequency of the raids is a clear indication of this crackdown, and affects not only business users but private individuals as well.

In some ways, the use of illicit software by private individuals is not much of a concern for the authorities. Some go so far as to claim that it's encouraged, for it makes it easier to clamp down on activists when needed. As a Hungarian saying goes, don't go out into the sun if you have butter on your head.

What is of grave concern, however, is that most private individuals are unaware they are criminals. While the laws in place appear to target those producing illegal versions of software, and then selling them on a black market, the truth of the matter is these laws make no distinction between such activity and those who simply borrow a legal version of a program from someone else. As one observer noted, the copyright laws in Hungary which regulate the use of software are such that it is akin to saying it is a criminal offence to borrow a book from a friend.

The latest modifications to Hungary's copyright laws came in 1999, which tightened the rules regulating software use. The reason for the crackdown on "software piracy" is not only because of intense lobbying by the software industry, but also because Hungary has become a center for investment by high technology companies. Microsoft is the latest to choose Hungary for their operations; their X-box console will be manufactured in the western Hungarian town of Szombathely. As a result, in order to attract further investment and to keep the ones already in the country happy, the Hungarian authorities have been forced to comply with business demands to crack down on illicit software use.

This is an obvious about-face for which many people are unprepared. In the last decade of communist rule, the government paid little attention to the COCOM ban on the import of computer technology, thus the notion of copyright was practically non-existent. After the end of communist rule, although access to such products became easier, the high cost of software justified the use of illicit versions as a necessity.

Even now, the price of software is expensive relative to the low wages in Hungary. To make matters worse, the use of computers has spread to such an extent that it's only natural that illicit software will continue to be in demand. Students, for example, find it increasingly difficult to do their school work without the use of computers. For those lucky enough to afford a second-hand machine, illicit software is their only choice. Indeed, most of the time such machines are bought with software already installed.

For businesses, the story is not much different, especially for SMEs (small and medium enterprises). It's not just a question of buying one version of a program, but the need for separate ones for each machine used, whether stand-alone or networked. On top of this, the frequent releases of new versions force enterprises to upgrade existing versions. This is a big problem especially for companies with foreign contacts, who quickly find that in the interest of compatibility they need to spend the same amount on software as their western counterparts. The only difference is that with the markets unequal as they are, SMEs in Hungary find it increasingly difficult financially to upgrade their systems so often.

Because of this, the black market for software is a thriving business. With the cost of legal software so expensive, it's a highly profitable activity indeed. There is, however, stiff competition. Hungary is home to some of the best WAREZ sites for illicit software. Still, not everyone has the time to search for software on-line. Also, because of the high cost of Internet access, it's sometimes easier to forgo all the trouble and buy a black market CD.

Aside from this, within the hacker and cracker communities of Hungary the spread of illicit software has become the backbone of the "real" information revolution. Most get their satisfaction from outwitting the multinationals who repeatedly try new tricks to prevent their software from being cracked or hacked, or just plain copied. Some regard themselves as "Robin Hood" type of characters on a moral crusade to make sure that information is truly free.

While the spread of illicit software seems uncontrollable, all those involved -- from legal experts to the hackers themselves -- agree that illicit software use would fall drastically if prices were more affordable. The problem is that multinationals, much like the music industry in the face of the Napster challenge, are unwilling to lower their profit margins. Also, some are reluctant considering the dynamics of a globalised world economy: they are forced to keep their prices more or less the same throughout the world, otherwise people would take delivery of products from where they are the cheapest.

As a result, the software industry -- much like the music industry -- has decided to go on the offensive. The Business Software Alliance (BSA), which now operates in over 60 countries worldwide, was been established with the aim to curb the use of illicit software through "communication" and "marketing" activities. In other words, it is the propaganda arm of the software industry.

In Hungary, the BSA has been operating since 1993. In 1995 they forged an agreement with the police and later the tax and customs authorities. In addition to their propaganda campaign, the BSA provides these authorities with regular training. When a case is brought to court, the organisation also provides legal help for the authorities; for large cases, the BSA acts as a defendant in a civic suit.

As a result of all this activity, the use of illicit software among businesses has dropped by 30% in over five years. Even so, illicit software use among businesses is still between 50% and 60%, while among private individuals it has made barely an impact.

Naturally, the BSA doesn't like being referred to as the "software police", and categorically denies that role. However, there is good reason why people link the activities of the BSA to that of being the "software police". It was one of the BSA's early propaganda campaigns of the mid-nineties, in where billboard advertisements showed a pair of handcuffed arms and a caption warning that the use of illicit software will earn you from two to five years in prison (which was upgrade to 8 years in 1999), which gave rise to the popular notion of the "software police".

The most recent campaign launched by the BSA in Hungary -- and to date its most ambitious -- is when last year it sent some 6,000 letters to various companies offering to "work together" with them to help rid the country of illicit software. Of the 6,000 companies targeted, less than a third had taken up BSA's offer to inspect their machines and replace (or "legalise") any software considered illicit. In turn, those companies working with the BSA would not be prosecuted if during the inspections illicit software was found on any of their machines.

A similar campaign to this one was already launched by the BSA six years earlier, in 1994. Then, it was public institutions such as schools which were targeted. Similarly, the institutions in question were given the option to buy site licenses for their software at reduced rates if they co-operated with the request.

Ironically, the police and government authorities themselves have come under similar pressure to confess their sins. Only last September did the Interior Ministry sign an agreement with Microsoft Hungary that, in addition to upgrading their machines, they would legalise any existing software considered illicit. The Budapest police came under similar scrutiny for using illicit software whilst seeking to punish those using it themselves. One wonders what authority both the government and police had for the past seven years pursuing software criminals when, by law, they were likewise criminals themselves.

As these examples are supposed to illustrate, the BSA is not concerned with the individual user, but businesses and institutions. They're confident that as soon as illicit software is wiped out at that level, it will eventually affect the behaviour of individual users at home.

The on-line community, however, doesn't see it this way. What they are worried about is that the law is so vague and broad and that it gives the authorities unprecedented power over the individual. Basically, at any time they can throw a person in jail knowing they have a computer at home, which most probably has some form of illicit software on it.

What is especially worrying is the fact that the BSA operates an anonymous hotline to report on illicit software use. In addition to a feeling that the "age of the informer" has returned (something which most hoped would die with the demise of communism), there are many ways in which this can be abused. The most obvious scenario is that anyone can call the BSA hotline and report on a person and, in effect, have that person thrown in jail. Another scenario is if a police district wishes to increase its quota of arrests, it merely has to go to second-hand computer stores and get a list of customers.

There have been some reports of such tactics already being used by the police. At times, the way in which they conduct raids betrays the ignorance of what they are doing: they have been known to seize not only the computer itself, but also peripheral hardware such as scanners, monitors, and printers. As one victim reported, "it was comical to see detectives with serious faces take away my monitor so as to test if it had any illegal software on it."

At the end of the day, the use of illicit software among businesses and individuals in Hungary is actually not that bad in comparison with other countries within the region. Only the Czech Republic and Slovakia have a slightly better record. In Bulgaria and Romania the level is around 80%;Russia is close to 90%.

In western Europe, meanwhile, the statistics are a bit better. Overall, the average within the EU is between 30-40%. Yet not all EU countries are close to this range: in Greece, for example, illicit software use among businesses is over 70%.

Globally, the use of illicit software is lowest in the US, at only 26%. By contrast, in countries like China and Vietnam, illicit software use is close to 100%. Looking at it another way, the most populous countries have the highest rate of illicit software use. In global terms, therefore, the majority of computer users on the planet are, in the eyes of the BSA, criminals.

http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/7/7211/1.html