Around seven million people in the UK are involved in illegal downloads at huge cost to the economy - but changing attitudes is going to be tough. A report warns that criminalising people who download illegally may not be the right course.

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The report says seven million people who download illegally in the UK can't all be students, older people must also be involved. But it says there's uncertainty about what is or is not illegal, and the fact that so much on the internet is free only adds to the confusion.

The report warns the government that criminalising downloaders could have huge economic costs and might not even work.

Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC

Listen to the words

body
here, organisation, institution

copyright
the legal right of either creative artists or publishers to control the use and reproduction of their original works

consumer attitudes to
here, how downloaders feel about

getting free access to
here, able to download without paying

must also be involved
here, look certain to be using illegal downloads as well

there's uncertainty about
nobody knows for sure

adds to the confusion
makes the situation even less clear

criminalising
treating somebody as a criminal and/or making what they do punishable under the criminal law

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