The threat of digital piracy to creatives and consumers
The article addresses the significant threat that digital piracy poses to both creatives and consumers in the Philippines. A study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and presented during an anti-piracy symposium organized by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), among others, revealed that Filipino consumers are 33 times more likely to encounter cyber threats on popular piracy sites compared to legal film and TV websites. The 2024 YouGov consumer survey on piracy ranked the Philippines second in the Asia-Pacific region for consumption of pirated content, following Vietnam. This high engagement with pirated digital content exposes Filipino consumers to risks such as malware and data theft. To combat these issues, the study recommends developing a national awareness and education campaign, increasing funding for law enforcement in digital forensics and incident response, and enacting proportionate and transparent site-blocking laws targeting piracy sites and services. The IPOPHL has been actively collaborating with the MPA to reduce the proliferation of piracy sites in the country, including issuing requests to disable access to domains hosting pirated movies and TV shows. In September 2023, IPOPHL issued Memorandum Circular No. 2023-025, known as the Rules on Voluntary Administrative Site Blocking, allowing internet service providers to block infringing websites and domains upon request from the IP Rights Enforcement Office. Digital piracy, defined as the illegal copying and selling of digital content, is considered a form of copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. The Supreme Court defines copyright infringement as any unauthorized act that violates the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner.
