Ever Pirate Music? The FBI Probably Won’t Hire You.

Wait! Before you illegally
download that copy of Justin Bieber’s latest hits, you’ve got to
know something: It could cost you a gig with the FBI.

TorrentFreak, a blog dedicated to all things copyright-
and piracy-related,
reported last week:

Monday this week Sacramento State’s Career Center welcomed
the FBI for a visit concerning recruitment of students for
its paid internship program. One of the topics discussed were
historical actions that could exclude applicants from the
program.

In addition to drug use, criminal activity and even defaulting
on a student loan, students were informed that if they had
illegally downloaded content in the past, that could rule them out
of a position at the FBI. It appears that to the agency,
downloading is tantamount to stealing.

The student-run
State Hornet spoke with an FBI representative, Steve
Dupre, who says there’s no point in lying about it:

During the first two phases of interviews, everything is
recorded and then turned into a report. This report is then passed
along to a polygraph technician to be used during the applicant’s
exam, which consists of a 55-page questionnaire. If an applicant is
caught lying, they can no longer apply for an FBI agent
position.

“If you are accepted to intern at FBI and fail the polygraph you
can no longer apply to FBI again.” Dupre said.

This policy isn’t terribly surprising, since the FBI has gone
after high-profile file-sharing sites like MegaUpload. Though, that
doesn’t mean it’s a policy that makes much sense.

While the agency considers
piracy “a growing threat,” several
studies have
shown that musicians and entertainers actually benefit from the
illicit distribution of their art. A 2012 survey found that 46
percent of all Americans illegally download copyrighted material,
and among people aged 18-29, it’s 
70 percent. By barring young people who participate in an
increasingly common activity, the FBI is limiting its own pool of
technologically curious and savvy potential employees—just
as it’s doing by not hiring marijuana users. Whether the policy
even works is up for debate, since it’s been documented just how
much members of
the FBI (and Congress and the Department of Justice) like to
snatch free copies of their favorite shows and movies,
too.