Apple TV+ boost for anti-piracy efforts
October 9, 2020
By Colin Mann
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market for creative content, has confirmed that Apple TV+ is its newest member and will join its governing board. The addition of Apple’s streaming service further strengthens ACE’s collective approach to disrupting a piracy ecosystem that harms creators.
According to ACE, streaming piracy is a growing problem representing 80 per cent of all piracy today. Unlawful piracy operations put incredible innovation, creativity and investment at risk, to the detriment of creators, innovators and consumers alike. Global Innovation Policy Center figures suggest that piracy costs as much as $71 billion annually in lost domestic revenues.
Additionally, consumers are harmed when accessing illegal content – one-third of pirate sites target consumers with malware that can lead to a range of problems, including identify theft and financial loss, according to a report by Digital Citizens Alliance.
As more people are at home consuming movies and television during the global Coronavirus pandemic, 69 per cent of Americans say they are watching more TV and movies during this time, based on a recent Digital Citizens Alliance survey. Another new Digital Citizens Alliance report estimates that 23 million individuals across nine million US households use a pirate subscription IPTV service.
ACE was founded in 2017 by the Motion Picture Association and 30 of the world’s leading media and technology companies to combine efforts and resources to combat the threat and prevalence of online piracy. ACE’s governing board is comprised of Amazon, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and now Apple TV+. Since its creation, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and sources of unauthorised content and their operators.