Thursday, August 26, 2010

Japan's 'digital shoplifting' plague

Japanese bookstores are set to launch a national campaign to stop so-called "digital shoplifting" by customers using camera-equipped mobile phones. The Japanese Magazine Publishers Association says the practice is "information theft" and it wants it stopped. It is the kind of thing that most Japanese young women wouldn't think twice about doing. They might spot a new hairstyle or a new dress in a glossy fashion magazine and they want to know what their friends think - so they take a quick snap with their mobile phone camera and send everybody a picture. But the publishers of those magazines feel they are being cheated out of valuable sales. Together with Japan's phone companies, they are issuing stern posters which warn shoppers to be careful of their "magazine manners".

No comments:

Blog Archive