What word do you use when someone unrightfully gains possession of something that isn’t theirs?
Btw a lot of words in English have multiple meanings, and transform meaning over time, which can be confusing sometimes. For example, in baseball you steal a base, which was being protected by the other team, but you don’t remove the base from the field and run off with it.
I think steal works better than copy here, more accurately conveying meaning and intention, and unjust access.
I think the reason "steal" can feel strange here is that we've spent the last 15 years arguing that copyright infringement is "not stealing" because the original creator has not been deprived of anything.
I think it’s context dependent, just like other uses of the word steal. With copyright infringement, internet communities have come to agreement that it is not stealing, so avoiding the use of the word in that context is important. In baseball it’s not, and neither with identity theft. With illegally obtained private photos, never intended to be shared or released to the world, is there a better word? It’s such a different scenario, the only similarity I see is both involve files on a computer.
