So why should MasterCard and Visa take such a step? It’s about the company you keep, and payment processors have shown a willingness to disassociate with other bad actors, such as, online pharmacies selling controlled substances without a prescription. MasterCard and Visa deserve credit for their efforts to curtail those sales.
But they should take a hard look at the checkered history of their cyberlocker partners. Cyberlockers have been indicted criminally, in the case of MegaUpload, and found liable in civil court, in the case of Hotfile. Simply put, the businesses that simply exploit and expropriate the creative efforts of others do not occupy a legitimate place in the Internet ecosystem.
Content theft is a cancer on the Internet. It introduces viruses and malware to computers, robs creators who rely on the Internet to sell their products, damages brands by associating them with illegal and inappropriate content and provides seed money for criminals to engage in other illegal activities.
The mix of bad, and often illegal, operations with advertisements and services from brands we know and trust erodes the reputation these good actors have spent billions and worked decades to build. It even threatens the Internet itself. We rely on the Internet to deliver information and commerce into our homes and businesses, but that will not continue if users cannot browse the web with confidence and security. The time is now to protect Internet freedom and safety we consumers enjoy; we can’t wait any long to combat the threat posed by these rogue actors.
