Digital origins

Question is…

Is a digital copy the original?

I came across a reference to this in a book ( out of many, many books!) whilst researching net.art. Thought nothing of it at the time, made no note of it, now I can't find it !

The author argued that a digital 'copy' was in every sense identical to the original, therefore it had not changed status in any way! An outlandish idea but important if true

Can anyone point me in the right direction here or discuss?