AfterDawn: Tech news

BSA doubles reward for snitches

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Dec 2009 12:25 User comments (3)

BSA doubles reward for snitches The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has announced that they have now doubled the reward for workers who whistleblow on their bosses for using pirated software.
The reward is now £20,000.

The move comes amidst new research that showed that about 70 percent of all workers in London would turn on their bosses for "dodgy business practices" while 20 percent of those said they would be even more willing to do so during the holiday season so they could have more spending money for their families. That number increased to 40 percent if the workers felt their job was in jeopardy in the near future.

“Many cash-strapped employees are willing to supplement their earnings in the run up to Christmas by reporting illegal business practices, and the affects of the recession are making them even more likely to expose corporate wrongdoings,”
added Alyna Cope, BSA UK Committee spokesperson, via CBR “London businesses should take note and make every effort to ensure that their software licensing is up-to-date.”

In another "where did you pull these figures from" type note, Cope says that London businesses alone use £179 million worth of pirated software each year and that a "10% drop in piracy rates would generate over 13,000 new jobs, £1.08bn in tax revenues and contribute £4.46bn to the UK’s economy."

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3 user comments

11.12.2009 13:09

The companies would now be spending thousands more on software licenses. I don't see how that would help them pay more employees.

21.12.2009 19:13

Yeah, I don't see the benefit in snitching unless you're about to quit and hate your job lol. I also don't trust these numbers. If people are pirating the software, what makes you think they'll go buy it if they get caught? I'd just use a free or much cheaper alternative.

I don't see any business mass buying: Windows, Photoshop, Office, or other products if they resorted to piracy in the first place. Chances are they don't have much money to spend on these things so they won't end up spending money on them anyway if they get caught. 13,000 jobs gained is a pretty bold statement to back up this argument. Then like snardos said, even if jobs are gained, if they were required to pay for this software then the money has to come from somewhere, right?

No, they shouldn't be pirating, but encouraging snitching is HARDLY the way to do it.

32.12.2009 03:36

They act like they want to prevent corportate misconduct, but their only concern is that these companies buy licences. The BSA would be happy if every company on earth was trafficing sex slaves...so long as they pay for their software.

The 13,000 new jobs estimate is a bit silly...we all know that if these companies suddenly had the money to hire 13,000 people...the executives would steal half of it, and put the rest into the company caufers. No one would get hired, and they might even downsize the company in the next quarter in order to artificialy extend the profit margin groth.

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