I was at first hesitant to post about this since it could be a hoax. Then again, it is believable that the MPAA would promote such a message. Plus, it's being covered on BoingBoing and Ars Technica, so it makes for good knews.

An MPAA email announcement was leaked onto the Internet yesterday. The story within it could be fact or fiction, but what is very disturbing is the attempt to connect content piracy with the drug trade:

MPAA investigations teams routinely uncover evidence demonstrating that many of the gangs and syndicates involved in hard goods piracy are also heavily involved in other forms of illegal activity such as drug dealing. In September, Los Angeles police arrested Jose Maria Trujillo for possession of six bundles of powder cocaine, an ounce of marijuana, and selling illegal DVDs after a search of his car uncovered more than 2,000 pirated DVDs. During the same month, Federal and local authorities in New York arrested approximately 21 members of the violent Chinatown street gang "Yi Ging" who were involved in DVD and CD piracy as well as narcotics trafficking, loan sharking and other crimes.

and,

"We are aware that serious criminals are profiting from the illegal sales of DVDs. These types of operations are supporting networks of drugs and other criminal activity that we do not want on our streets," said MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman. "The MPAA is working aggressively to root out piracy in all corners of the globe so that unfortunate events driven by this illegal activity are halted and the public is made safer."

Will students soon be taught that file sharing is as wrong as using drugs and even leads to drug use? I know that's a stretch, but I can't help but feel that the entertainment industries will push it as far as we let them. Perhaps the leaked email is a marketing ploy to gauge people's reactions to this line of attack on piracy.