DStv declares war on piracy

Content piracy remains rife in South Africa because consumers don’t see it as a crime, and circumventing cybersecurity measures is easy for pirates.

This is the view of Irdeto broadcast cybersecurity and anti-piracy director Frikkie Jonker.

Irdeto is a MultiChoice-owned global digital rights management and cybersecurity powerhouse. In addition to looking after MultiChoice’s anti-piracy interests, Irdeto’s controversial Denuvo digital rights management software is used by major game publishers.

Jonker explains that content piracy is the act of distributing copyrighted content without permission, such as films and music.

He said Africa has shallow barriers to entry for content piracy, making it a very attractive opportunity for criminals who seek the path of least resistance.

“In terms of penetration success – circumventing cybersecurity measures – they may achieve a success rate of 70%, which compares favourably with other territories,” he argued.

“This — coupled with Africa’s billion-strong population — is a key supply driver of content piracy.”

This makes the supply side seem very attractive to criminals. As for the demand side, Jonker says there needs to be a change of attitude towards content piracy being a crime.

“Changing people’s attitude to the crime of content piracy has to be an industry-wide campaign,” he said.

“The creative industry must unite and address the issue collectively — as they have done through pan-African initiatives like Partners Against Piracy.”

Jonker points out that government policy also influences the attitude towards piracy within a state — whether this is seen an important issue or one that needs to be sidelined.

If the government views it as an insignificant issue, it has even further ramifications than letting crime flourish; foreign content businesses like Netflix or Amazon may hesitate to enter the country without the correct reassurance.

However, because of technological advancements, Jonker and his team can track down and prosecute pirated content rapidly, accurately and at scale.

“Piracy is often a multi-level operation, with global and regional headquarters, as well as regional resellers,” Jonker said.

“It is now also possible for content owners and police to identify criminals at every level of these operations, as well as those who consume pirated content.”

Jonker also believes that “financial difficulty is no longer a reason for piracy” and that the crime puts many people’s livelihoods in danger.

He says that clamping down on piracy protects the welfare of creators, producers, and rightsholders and the thousands of jobs across Africa that the creative industry sustains.

MultiChoice recently announced that it conducted a successful raid in partnership with police detectives and arrested a suspect in Gauteng alleged to be enabling piracy.

Jurgen Johannes Potgieter allegedly sold login credentials and pirate Internet streaming devices, according to MultiChoice.

According to MultiChoice, he violated the Cybercrime Act by providing illegal access to premium content and is also accused of money laundering.

The arrest resulted in the confiscation of numerous pieces of equipment, which the police have yet to analyse.

This follows a series of successful raids in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“This raid highlights our continuous efforts to dismantle illegal operations that undermine the creative industry,” said Jonker.

Jonker commended the police on their professionalism, which he said significantly contributed to the raid’s success.

He mentioned that the company is bolstering its anti-piracy efforts and that more raids are imminent.

In addition to Irdeto’s efforts against piracy, Partners Against Piracy is working alongside local governments to address intellectual property (IP) infringement.

The initiative is an Africa-wide multi-stakeholder partnership that aims to increase collaboration on information sharing, IP law enforcement, and piracy reduction.

Agencies involved include the Serious Commercial Crime Unit of the Hawks, South African Police Services and the Cybercrime Units in various provinces.

“Content piracy involves the unauthorised acquisition, use, sharing or selling of copyrighted content. Put simply, piracy is stealing,” MultiChoice said.