The six faces of ignorance in online piracy: How not knowing shapes the practices of media consumption

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the interrelation between online piracy and ignorance. It brings together literature on both piracy and ignorance and theorizes the role that ignorance plays in media consumption. The empirical analysis first demonstrates how ignorance is used by the members of the Czech Pirate Party to avoid liability for operating a website that streams copyright content. Then, it draws upon interviews with the members of convergent audiences to account for six dimensions of ignorance that are employed by users at the end of the media distribution chain. An argument is made that the concept of ignorance accounts for a set of seemingly paradoxical findings, providing a single frame of reference within which they might be explained. Finally, a perspective is put forth that invites the study of ignorance outside of formal organizations and questions the prevailing association of strategic ignorance with established positions of power.