Ships near Somalia are playing Britney Spears songs to keep pirates away. A ship's officer said the songs were good against Somali pirates: "[Britney's] songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most. These guys [hate] Western culture or music." A security expert said loud pop music stopped pirate attacks. He added: "Each security company will have its own music choice."

Loud music is often used to scare people. It is also used for torture. Guantanamo Bay played loud music for weeks and months non-stop to keep prisoners awake. One prisoner said the loud music in his cell was worse than being beaten up. He said: "It makes you feel like you are going mad." A human rights charity has started a campaign to end it. It wants rock stars to stop prisons using their music for torture.