A rather interesting draft report from the Australian Institute Of Criminology accuses the music and software industries of exaggerating the levels of copyright crime being committed, especially on the internet, in order to pressure government to tighten copyright laws. According to The Australian newspaper, the report says that record labels and computer firms have been touting "absurd" piracy figures in self commissioned reports that are, they argue, filled with "self-serving hyperbole".
The report alleges that neither industry are able to explain the methodology behind many of the piracy statistics they publish. Claiming that much industry research is "unverified and epistemologically unreliable", it says: "It is inappropriate for courts and policy-makers to accept at face value currently unsubstantiated statistics. Either these statistics must be withdrawn, or the purveyors of these statistics must supply valid and transparent substantiation". It adds that music and software companies are publishing exaggerated piracy statistics in order to get copyright issues higher up the political agenda, concluding: "Demonstrated higher levels of piracy and counterfeiting would invariably result in additional federal government resources being diverted to enforcement activities. This is a matter requiring urgent attention".
Although the report is concerned primarily with the actions of the Australian music and software industries, some of the statistics that are criticised for hyperbole come from global reports, so the criticisms possibly have wider relevance. That said, the Institute Of Criminology itself has aired caution about the draft report, which reached The Australian via an illegitimate route. They say that the report has been written by an external consultant, Alex Malik, and that they are currently reviewing his work. The indication is that criticism of the music or software industries will be not so sweeping in the eventual published version of the report.