India has adopted a digital-first approach as the nation continues to adopt and innovate technology. However, adopting technology has also made the nation vulnerable to different problems among which is digital piracy. Social media platforms have become a hub for paid content as conversations around laws against digital piracy continue to get stronger. According to a report by Ankura Piracy Statistics, India was the third-highest contributor of visits to content piracy websites with more than seven billion, only behind the U.S. and Russia. The report further added that individuals and organised groups circulate such content using messaging apps including Telegram and WhatsApp. “While content moderation on social media platforms is a wide topic, there are no international enforceable laws around content. All platforms develop their own Content and Community Guidelines. The meaning and extent of Moderation can be different for different social media platforms. Most of the content on these platforms is user-generated content (UGC), and hence review of content is imperative to maintain societal values & principles. Machine Learning algorithms have made possible moderation of huge content sizes. The ML is also sophisticated enough to take decisions on complete removal or forwarding the content to a human ‘Reviewer’ who would take the call to remove or limit distribution. Flagging content by users is also a widely accepted technique. Short or Long, Content moderation is the first moral and ethical responsibility of the platforms and the rules they frame and follow become the torch bearer in the society. Platforms also have certain documented exceptions generally termed EDSA (Educational, Documentary, Scientific and Artistic) that may be allowed barring the rules. Warnings issued to the users also deter them from repeating content uploads with similar issues,” Chandrashekhar Mantha, partner- risk advisory, Deloitte India, told BrandWagon Online.
As per a report by Muso, television has approximately 46.3% sector share of global visits to piracy websites, followed by publishing at 27.5%, films at 12.9%, music at 7%, and software at 6.2%, globally.
An epidemic named digital piracy!
The media and entertainment industry in India grew by Rs 17,300 crore, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% to reach Rs 2,32,000 crore, as per a report by FICCI-EY. The filmed entertainment segment grew by 14% to reach Rs 19,700 crore in 2023. With more than 1,796 films being released in 2023 and recording a revenue of Rs 12,000 billion, films continue to be one of the top targets of piracy. Moreover, the content from Hindi GECs and web series have also surfaced on social media platforms and short-video format platforms, allowing users to watch the content for free which otherwise they would have had to pay a premium for. Spiderman: No Way Home and Game of Thrones were the most pirated movies and most pirated web series in India in 2022.
According to reports by the Press Information Bureau, the film industry faces a loss of up to Rs 20,000 crore due to piracy, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting took steps to check film piracy in the country. The amendment in the Cinematograph Act in 2023 addressed the issues relating to film certification, including the issue of unauthorised recording and exhibition of films and film piracy by transmission of unauthorised copies on the Internet and imposed strict penalties for piracy. The amendment includes strict punishment of a minimum of three months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh which can be extended up to three years imprisonment and a fine up to five percent of the audited gross production cost. “Piracy is a big menace for the filmed entertainment industry and it has been a big revenue drainer for the industry. While the audience gets to watch films illegally, it is the producers who lose revenue, and the entire cycle is disrupted. We need to take stringent control of the situation. The government has taken steps to curb digital piracy and I hope the effect of the steps does add to deterring piracy,” Girish Johar, producer and film trade analyst, said.
Queries sent to Sony Entertainment, Viacom18, Zee and Meta remained unanswered till the time of publishing the story.
Moreover, the piracy of content of Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) has also been a concern for the channels. According to experts, with the content being available on social media platforms, the dark web or other platforms have resulted in viewership dilution. The result of viewership dilution has been the shrinking of advertising moolah since the revenue from advertising is based on television rating points (TRP). “There are two broad revenue streams for a GEC channel, one is advertising money while the other is subscription revenue. If viewers are watching the content free of cost, then they don’t require a subscription to watch the content on television which is a significant loss amid the struggles of conventional TV growth and cord-cutting. Piracy is further harming the revenue potential of conventional TV,” Ashsih Golwalkar, a senior media consultant, highlighted.
Experts added that piracy also has a cascading effect on content investment. With the movies being available for free on digital platforms, users would not opt to pay a premium on different TV channels. Movie and TV piracy in India resulted in a revenue loss of $2.3 billion in 2022, as per a report by data research and analytics firm Ampere.
A war on piracy
India has been taking steps towards battling piracy with amendments to the Cinematograph Act of 1952. However, with social media platforms being the hotspot for piracy-related activities, experts believe guidelines must be brought in to curb piracy on these platforms. “I believe a three-layered piracy protection system is required. Firstly, we need strong guidelines and policies on what is permissible as user-generated content. The generation of digital content creators needs that clarity today. Secondly, there should be ownership of social media platforms to control digital piracy as well. Many of them are using AI-based tools to control digital piracy at a platform level. Lastly, there should be an ease of reporting for end consumers to identify pirated content. I feel this is missing today,” Sreedhar Prasad, former head of Internet business, KPMG and Internet business advisor to startups, highlighted.
Additionally, piracy is a problem that the entire world is fighting against. Experts have regarded piracy as an epidemic which is harming content industries across the globe..“There are multiple ways of pirating content, one of them being user uploads wherein individual accounts unknowingly upload content. GEC platforms, nowadays, have their streaming platforms from where the content is cracked and uploaded to these platforms. Fan accounts on social media platforms are one of the biggest destinations for pirated content with them being operated from abroad. It continues to be an ongoing battle between the media companies and perpetrators,” Golwalkar added.
Social media platforms have also taken steps with copyright laws becoming stringent. The laws allow users to identify pirated or copyrighted content on the platform and get it removed to avoid revenue loss and viewership loss. “We work hard to balance the rights of copyright holders with the creative pursuits of the YouTube community. It’s not up to YouTube to decide who ‘owns the rights’ to content, which is why we give copyright holders tools to make copyright claims and uploaders tools to dispute claims that are made incorrectly. When a copyright holder notifies us of a video that infringes on their copyright, we remove the content promptly in accordance with the law, and terminate the accounts of repeat offenders,” a YouTube spokesperson, said.