Piracy Shield: IP Addresses and Server Locations Blocked Since Launch
There’s rarely a shortage of conflict and controversy in the perpetual online piracy wars. For some, the David versus Goliath imagery, of ordinary people fighting faceless corporations, will never get old. For others, the right of creators to receive fair compensation for their work is non-negotiable; it puts food on the table, literally. Yet spend enough time digesting every possible detail presented by those shouting most loudly...
In Indonesia, Women Pirate More Music and Movies Than Men
At the start of the last decade, The Pirate Bay teamed up with Sweden’s Lund University to conduct the largest online piracy survey in history. The research elicited responses from 75,000 ‘pirates’ from all parts of the world. Despite this geographical diversity, a rather traditional gender pattern appeared. Of all respondents, only 5% were female. These findings were rather extreme but they fit the old stereotypical image of ‘the...
Piracy Moghul Aniwatch Rebrands to HiAnime
Anime is growing globally as an entertainment category and this popularity surge isn’t limited to legal platforms. Today, several of the world’s largest pirate sites are exclusively dedicated to anime. This includes Aniwatch.to, the streaming portal that operated as Zoro.to earlier last year. The streaming portal, which is arguably the largest pirate site in the world, is a prime target for anti-piracy groups. The Alliance for...
Russia’s ‘VPN Ban’ is Live as Authorities Warn of Bad VPNs & U.S. Spying
In countries where internet access faces restrictions, from general government censorship through to more limited site-blocking programs to protect copyright, citizens have grown comfortable with the use of VPNs. In Russia, where the government censors certain material and has an anti-piracy site-blocking regime on top, around 20% of the internet population regularly use VPNs. While accessing blocked websites and communicating in...
YouTube Content ID Copyright Claims Increased 25% in a Year
To protect copyright holders, YouTube regularly removes, disables, or demonetizes videos that contain allegedly infringing content. For years, little was known about the scope of these copyright claims, but that changed two years ago when the streaming platform published its first-ever transparency report. These reports, which were initially published as pdf files, showed that roughly 99% of all copyright claims on YouTube are handled...
Pirate Sites With Malicious Ads Face Restrictions Under New Initiative
There was a time when visiting a pirate site was much like visiting any other. Keen to attract eyeballs wherever they might be, many of the world’s biggest brands exchanged cold hard cash for an appearance on prominent pirate portals. Over time and as the thorny issue of funding illicit platforms gained traction, companies including Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Volvo came under increasing pressure. The same held true for other...
