Europeans access illegal online content 10 times a month

• According to the latest report by EUIPO, online piracy among European internet users remains constant compared to last year, with 10 accesses to illegal content per internet user per month.
• TV content accounts for half of all illegal access cases – averaging 5 accesses per month per internet user in the EU.
• The number of illegal Internet TV (IPTV) sites has increased – in 2023, visits to pirate IPTV sites increased by 10%.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) report showed that digital piracy across the EU remains high, but did not increase in 2023 and amounted to 10 accesses per month to illegal content per internet user. This trend is visible across all types of internet content, except for publications where piracy has decreased, and music where the level of piracy has risen since the beginning of 2023.

The EUIPO study “Copyright Infringements on the Internet in the European Union: Films, Music, Publications, Software, and Television 2017–2023” showed that half of the cases of European internet users entering pirate sites are TV content (5 times a month).

As for overall piracy, according to the study, internet users access sites with illegal content at a lower level than the EU average in Austria (8.9), Spain (8.5), Poland (8.3), Romania (7.9), Germany (7.7) and Italy (7.3).

João Negrão, Executive Director of EUIPO, commented on the study results:

The digital landscape is constantly changing, as are the patterns of copyright infringements on the internet. Our latest study shines light on the complexity of digital content consumption and the factors influencing piracy. It is essential to address the root causes of such behavior, which often include a lack of access to affordable legal content and inadequate social awareness on the consequences of piracy.

Streaming is the most common method of accessing pirated content. An alarming trend in illegal streaming has been observed – in 2023 there was a 10% increase in visits to pirate IPTV sites. The study estimated that even 1% of internet users in the EU may have subscribed to illegal IPTV sites in just two years, excluding existing users who subscribed before 2022.

The EUIPO study also found that internet users prefer to access pirated music and publications by mobile devices, while for viewing illegal TV content, users prefer to use their desktop computers.

It has been found that the economic and social factors responsible for piracy include income inequalities, youth unemployment, and the percentage of young people in society. The study indicates that higher levels of income inequality and a larger proportion of young people in society correlate with higher levels of piracy. On the other hand, higher GDP per capita and greater awareness of legal sources of content are associated with lower piracy rates.

TRENDS IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTENT

Movie piracy dropped to 0.71 access per user, mainly via streaming, which represents 74% of such activity. A higher GDP per capita reduces movie piracy, whereas a higher proportion of younger people and higher youth unemployment contribute to its increase. The results suggest that greater awareness of legal services and an increase in the number of television channels helps to lower piracy rates.

Music piracy slightly increased to 0.64 access per user, with the main method being ripping, i.e., downloading streaming content. Factors such as inequality, the demography of young people, and attitudes towards piracy are associated with a higher level of music piracy.

Publishing piracy remained steady at 2.7 accesses per user, where the main method was downloading content and the genre most commonly subjected to piracy was Manga, mainly on mobile devices. Software piracy increased by 6% (0.88 access per user/month), with mobile games being the most significant category.

In the case of live sports events, piracy increased between 2021–2023 and reached a level of 0.56 access per user last year, illustrating a complex link with GDP per capita. Social inequalities and attitudes towards piracy are recurring factors affecting piracy in all content types.

COMBATING ONLINE PIRACY

Copyright piracy involves several distribution methods of unauthorized content online, e.g., illegal subscription services and open online streaming funded by advertising revenue. Providers of such services use sophisticated techniques to make detection difficult, often benefiting from legal content distribution services.

Around the EU, states and stakeholders combat piracy related to live events, relying on regulations and technology to block illegal online services. The European Commission adopted two recommendations: one addressing the combat of online piracy in relation to sports events and other live events, setting up a network of specialized national administrative bodies, and another on combating counterfeiting through more effective enforcement of regulations and the dissemination of knowledge, to which EUIPO contributes through dissemination, implementation and monitoring actions.

Furthermore, efforts to combat piracy include informing consumers where they can find legal digital content. EUIPO’s Agorateka https://agorateka.eu/ is a tool that helps viewers identify legal offerings with online content, including sports events. As the new study shows, greater awareness of the existence of legal offerings helps reduce piracy.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDY

The study “Copyright Infringements on the Internet in the European Union: Films, Music, Publications, Software, and Television 2017–2023” measures piracy by tracking the number of monthly accesses to websites offering illegal content by internet users aged 15–74.