Early last month, a user on X posted clips from Paramount’s upcoming film, “Aang: The Last Airbender.” Shortly thereafter, fans found the entire movie leaked online.
Set to be released in October, the movie is reported to still be available online.
The leak has launched renewed concerns over digital piracy and its widespread use.
Digital piracy is the illegal distribution, downloading or use of copyrighted material. This is most commonly seen through the illegal distribution of entertainment such as movies, books, music and live sports.
Kearney, a management consulting firm, estimates that digital piracy costs the entertainment industry upward of $75 billion each year and thousands of jobs.
In 2023, according to industry estimates, there were more than 229 billion visits to piracy websites, mostly by millennials and Gen Z.
Despite domestic and international laws prohibiting its use, digital piracy websites continue to evade detection.
Clark Asay, professor of intellectual property law at BYU, says that subscription fatigue contributes to the rise in digital piracy.
He also believes that artificial intelligence could either deter or exacerbate digital piracy.
The impact on entertainment
In 2024, global revenue in the entertainment industry neared $3 trillion and is expected to grow closer to $3.5 trillion by 2029, according to PwC research.
The data for digital piracy revenue, although more difficult to estimate, indicates that yearly global revenue could surpass $125 billion in 2028, per ElectroiQ.
This would represent a roughly 3.5% cut of the entertainment industry’s total revenue. The impact is even larger when accounting for the hundreds of billions spent on piracy prevention each year.
Over 70% of people accessing digital piracy online are millennials or Gen Z. Reports show that they tend to use a mix of legal and illegal sites.
Teens who have grown up with internet access tend to frequently interact with illegal online activity. An EU survey showed that up to 1 in 3 teenagers accessed content illegally online, according to a report by The Guardian.
Piracy websites roll in massive profits through high-volume advertisements that are paid for with nearly untraceable cryptocurrencies. The ads can appear as anything from banners to videos and pop-ups.
Many companies that are advertised on illegal websites are unaware that their brand, app or services are being promoted in such a way. Some companies, such as other illicit online platforms or pornographic websites, knowingly solicit their services on these sites.
Do more platforms mean more digital piracy?
One of the drivers of digital piracy is subscription fatigue, according to data analysis firm Corsearch.
With so many different platforms, such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+ and HBO Max, many consumers have grown weary of paying for and managing many of the different subscriptions.
Sports fans may face the most difficulty in the age of subscriptions. In previous years, with a basic cable subscription, fans could watch almost any game they wanted to.
As consumers have shifted away from cable, the sports world has become increasingly fragmented. If a fan of the NFL, for example, wanted to watch every game this coming season, they would need a total of 10 subscriptions, costing anywhere from $700-$1,000 annually, according to reporting by The Mirror.
Can someone be prosecuted for watching pirated content?
Some question the likelihood of being sued for digital piracy.
“It’s sometimes like Whac-A-Mole” Asay told the Deseret News. “There’s so much of it happening that it’s hard to keep up with.”
“Sometimes it’s just not worth it to pursue,” he continued, “Kids, for instance, having a movie night (with illegal streaming) is technically infringement. But is it worth it for a copyright holder to pursue?”
Asay explained that although fees for copyright infringement can be hefty, the cost of pursuing such cases often far exceeds the potential reward the copyright holder would receive.
“If you find a big platform resulting in a lot of infringement,” continued Asay, “that’s what you go after.”
In most cases of copyright infringement where it is detected, the copyright holder will send a notice to the platform asking it to take down the content. If it does so, no further action is typically taken.
Asay also said that AI could potentially exacerbate the use of digital piracy while also acting as a more advanced tool for its detection.
Debate continues about piracy’s morality
Byung Lee, a professor at Elon University, conducted a 2018 study that indicated that a person’s moral attitude toward illegally downloading content is linked with their participation in digital piracy.
In other words, people who participate in this illicit activity generally do not see it as morally wrong.
Those who defend digital piracy argue that limiting the spread of online content would be an infringement of self-expression. Another frequent defense is that digital piracy is a victimless crime because the only people losing out are corporations.
However, the substantial loss of revenue, loss of jobs and promotion of other illicit online activity show the costs spread far beyond just corporate bottom lines.