[thinkloop]

It's a lot simpler than that. If one team has to pay artists, and another team does not, ceterus paribus the second team will win. Only by constraining the second team does the first team have a chance to play. If government didn't "waste" money constraining pirates then pirates will necessarily have an outsized presence in the space given their unfair advantage.

[katbyte]

silly. spotify killed music piracy not any government. Steam killed game piracy not any government. Netflix had killed movie piracy but with all streaming services making it annoying again piracy is back - despite all their efforts. notice how the government fails to move the needle at all?