Tim O'Reilly: "Internet piracy does basically not exist"

Tim O'Reilly, who coined the term Web 2.0, warns of the danger of Internet regulation by governments.

When Tim O'Reilly launched the first book about the Internet in 1992, there were only 200 sites only online. They were remote islands, a tiny archipelago that years later turned into the 'dot-com' bubble, in a universe we now know as Web 2.0, a term he himself coined for the technology in 2004.
 
He did it to explain the change occurring in the Internet, which has emerged as an autonomous space for computers. As a new platform in which the users are the ones to bring and share content, its tipping point has come in the phenomena of sites such as Facebook and Twitter. O'Reilly, a respected voice on the Internet, spoke today at length about the topic during the opening of Ficod, the International Digital Content Forum held in Madrid.

"The Internet is a medium that creates business opportunities and social development, but we must protect it from anything that may prevent its further growth" he warns. His words could be interpreted as an argument on the need for Internet regulation, but nothing could be further from the truth. He flatly rejects initiatives such as the 'SOPA' Act, the U.S. version of the Act authored by Gonzalez Sinde against piracy in Spain, because they do not guarantee a free Internet and "can prevent further growth."  For him, this legal order benefits those who "failed to adapt" to the challenges posed by the new reality and who now want to protect an old model.

Graduating with a B.A. "cum laude" in classical literature from Harvard University in 1975 and founder of O'Reilly Media (one of the most important computer book publishers in the world), the prestigious entrepreneur has been a staunch defender of Open Source and free licence distribution.

He suggests that there is no need to redesign copyright to adapt it for digital commerce. So what about piracy?  "It basically does not exist. It happens because people are scared. They have always gotten free copies of things. If someone manages to create something and it is offered at a reasonable price, you will always have someone buy it" he says.

Since he coined the name 2.0 for the Internet, digital reality has changed a lot and there are many who wonder what its next mutation will be.  "Many people tell me that Web 3.0 will be semantic. But I don't think so. I think it will be driven by sensors and that from now on we will see the combination of smart phones, loaded with sensors that collect data from their environment and users" he argues. "Data will be more important than algorithms" he says.  It will be a metamorphosis driven by constant connectivity of millions of people.

Privacy is dead

"From a technical point of view, privacy is dead. We are all controlled.  It's like when you put a spy chip in a car to follow it. But really, we pay for a device that tracks us", he says while waving his smartphone in his hand.  "We must emphasise that what is illegal is not actually having this information, but its misuse" he stresses.

The avalanche of information that often comes from social networks, that create "a collective brain" that allows us to "take advantage" of the wealth of others.  O'Reilly insists that rather than for self-promotion, this knowledge must be shared to contribute to the creation of a community.

His calm tone contrasts with the rapid development that he explains.  With technology growing and rapidly innovating, many companies, such as book publishers face a business crossroads. "I believe that no technology will disappear.  What I clearly see is that digital content will be dominant, perhaps in three to five years. But this will have a lot to do with distribution", he adds. "The best thing that analogue media can do is become digital. If you look at the work they do, they can make a new medium and make it better."