A new study from Microsoft says that the kids aren't the moral-less happy-to-steal thieves we all thought, they're just a bit clueless. They surveyed US kids between seventh and tenth grade, and found that there was widespread ignorance of copyright laws, meaning many of the kids who illegally download music and other content off the net don't actually realise that what they are doing is illegal.
The consensus is that the music industry has to do more to promote copyright and the fact P2P file-sharing is illegal, and that if they did less kids would access free content via Limewire et al. Of course the record industry has done quite a bit of educational stuff in this domain before, though it never ceases to amaze me how many people young and old remain ignorant regarding what is and isn't legal in online content, and as such ongoing proactive education is seemingly required. Microsoft is supporting such a programme in the US.
The Microsoft study found that 49% of the kids surveyed didn't know about copyright laws. Of those who did, 80% said copyright violators should be punished, while 49% of all of those surveyed said there should be punishment for infringers.