THE US ambassador to Australia, who lambasted Australians for pirating popular fantasy TV series Game of Thrones, has explained why he does not have "anything better to do" than to fight this issue.
Last week ambassador Jeffrey Bleich – a fan of the show – was the target of a fierce online backlash after he pleaded with Australians to stop illegally downloading the show.
"Unfortunately, nearly as epic and devious as the drama, is its unprecedented theft by online viewers around the world," Mr Bleich wrote in a Facebook post.
"As the ambassador here in Australia, it was especially troubling to find out that Australian fans were some of the worst offenders with among the highest piracy rates in the developed world."
Now the diplomat, President Barack Obama's top official in Australia, has taken to social media to address criticism of his plea head on after he was asked on Facebook "Don't ambassadors have anything better to do?".
"Several people wondered why a US ambassador would bother to complain about the pirating of Game of Thrones when there are so many bigger issues," he said.
"Actually, given the overwhelming response to the topic, maybe I haven't talked about internet piracy enough."
Mr Bleich reiterated that the cost of the series ($33.99 for a Season 3 pass on iTunes), and the wait time for Australian fans to download the show, are not excuses for theft.
"As I said in my original post, that isn't an excuse, any more than saying ‘I'd have bought the book if it weren't quicker and cheaper to steal it from the person next door'.


"But I do agree that the model clearly isn't working because many decent people, who otherwise would never consider taking property without paying for it, feel entitled to take digital entertainment."
Mr Bleich argued that the issue isn't just about Game of Thrones, but piracy, pointing to figures supplied by The Washington Post that said piracy causes the pay TV industry estimated losses of $1 billion in Asia alone.
Australian and US content producers depend upon being paid for their work, he said, and just because Game of Thrones has made so much money doesn't mean you don't have to pay for it.
The ambassador was scathing of criticism of his remarks quoting an HBO executive who said the widespread theft of the popular fantasy series was a kind of compliment.
"Seriously. Illegal immigration is sort of a compliment too (it means people would rather live in your country than theirs) and so is having someone hit on your partner (because it means they find him/her attractive.
"The fact that something is a perverse form of compliment doesn't mean that it is acceptable or desirable."
Mr Bleich's original plea provoked a feisty backlash, with the ambassador's Facebook page flooded with defiant, and sometimes abusive, criticism.
"Shouldn't you be, oh, I don't know, doing your job liasing with governments on international trade and immigration policies rather than lecturing the Australian public about television ethics?" asked Facebook commenter Mark Calderwood.


The US ambassador delivered his plea on Facebook (rather than raven). Picture: Game of Thrones
Several commenters argued that Australians were just getting their own back after being continuously ripped off by American technology companies like Apple, Microsoft and Adobe, who often charge Australians higher prices than Americans.
Pointing to the cost of Windows products as an example, Bricknell said: "I find the best deterrent to piracy is to offer the product at a reasonable price, not be ripped off like we are here in Australia."
"Should companies offer a product at a reasonable price, then people will buy the product and not pirate it."
Punter William Merrin added: "Maybe if HBO didn't make people wait a year before they could buy the DVD boxset… some of that piracy wouldn't happen."
Gareth Parker said Mr Bleich was wrong in blaming the download wait time for Australia's rampant Game of Thrones piracy.
"It's no longer about the wait. It's about a multitude of things. Did you know there's no decent antenna in my new apartment? Just a plug for cable.
"And what do I get if I subscribe to cable for some stupid amount? A huge amount of crap I don't care about, and a limited amount of stuff I do.
"I would happily pay a decent sum, to the best of my financial ability, for good content at my convenience," Mr Parker said. "But not for the crap I have to put up with as it is."


Source: News AU