Glyphglyph@mastodon.social
Oct 16, 2026, 4:31 AMretooted ilja |> go_to(eth0) :pumpkin_owo:
hot take perhaps, but imo when big companies ignore copyright like they are doing for llm training, that is not piracy imo.
historically, i see the term piracy used as a pejorative by big powers when they try to enclose something, against the people who act against that enclosure. we saw it when kings tried to own the sea, we saw it when governments tried to own radio waves, and we see it still today when companies try to own information and culture.
what these companies are doing now is not going against enclosure, they are, in fact, themselves actively trying to enclose.
the fact that their actions just happen to be the same as the actions of those they would call pirates doesn't make them pirates themselves. and there is precedence for this; back on the seas, there were people who acted like pirates, but did so with the blessing of the crown, the one doing the enclosure. these were not pirates, they are privateers.
historically, i see the term piracy used as a pejorative by big powers when they try to enclose something, against the people who act against that enclosure. we saw it when kings tried to own the sea, we saw it when governments tried to own radio waves, and we see it still today when companies try to own information and culture.
what these companies are doing now is not going against enclosure, they are, in fact, themselves actively trying to enclose.
the fact that their actions just happen to be the same as the actions of those they would call pirates doesn't make them pirates themselves. and there is precedence for this; back on the seas, there were people who acted like pirates, but did so with the blessing of the crown, the one doing the enclosure. these were not pirates, they are privateers.