Stop using the S word! Seriously. When you steal something, the rightful owner no longer has the item. You cannot by definition steal digital content. You can merely copy it. Does that result in damages to the original owner? Maybe. Is it stealing? No.
> honest question: do you think identity theft should likewise be renamed?
I don't care about that one so much. The reason is that nobody's agenda is being pushed each time that we say identity theft. We also all know what identity theft is and what it does to the victim. OTOH saying "don't steal music" makes it sound like a different issue than it really is.
Essentially it's a way to accrue benefits while pushing any negative consequences on someone else. Those negative consequences can be material and not merely opinion. (E.g., your actual bank account can be drained and your checks can bounce.)
Further, opinion does translate into material consequences. Your options largely depend on the opinion that other people have of you.
Even narrowly construed, a mere credit score is a source of opinion that can affect everything from housing (buying OR renting) to employment, to getting a cell phone or any other type of service. Straightening out your credit can be very difficult, and even if you are successful, the fraud was a denial of service attack against your time. Credit bureaus rarely if ever face penalties for maintaining inaccurate information, so the onus is on the person whose identity was stolen.
If you don't think the individual is victimized, I invite you to post all your credentials and see where the experiment leads.
