Websites and apps that offer pirated or stolen content, which include movies, TV shows, games and live events, earn an average of more than $1.3 billion in annual advertising revenues, according to a new report.
Technology companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google are responsible for much of the funding to such piracy operators through ads, even though these criminals offer risky content that exposes consumers to fraud and malware, said a report by Washington non-profit organisation Digital Citizens Alliance and global advisory firm White Bullet.
Despite the alarming scale of the problem, today we are fully armed with AI technologies that can both track illegal activity and advance solutions
Peter Szyszko,
founder and chief executive of White Bullet
“For too long, online piracy has been treated as a nuisance … and not the multibillion-dollar industry that baits consumers to expose them to fraud and malware, hurts the reputation of brands and the overall advertising ecosystem, harms creators and poses new challenges for law enforcement,” said Tom Galvin, executive director of Digital Citizens.
“It is time for Fortune 100 companies and the legitimate advertising industry to stop funnelling tens of millions of dollars to criminals.”
The websites that offer stolen content generate in excess of $1bn in global annual ad revenue while the top five of these made an average of $18.3 million in sales from advertising.
Many of these websites continuously change domain names to avoid enforcement and bypass advertising blocklists. The top apps that offer stolen content generate $259m in global annual advertising revenue. while the main five of these netted an average of $27.6m in ad revenue.
“These apps remain a smaller piece of the piracy pie than websites, but they are growing at a more rapid pace,” the report said.
White Bullet reviewed 664 billion ad impressions and found that about one in three piracy websites and apps have risky advertising that exposes consumers to fraud and malware.
Consumers who admit visiting pirated websites and apps are two to three-times more likely to report an issue with malware than those that do not visit these illicit websites and apps, the report found.
It said that ads for Amazon, Facebook and Google accounted for 73 per cent of all major brands advertising that appeared frequently on piracy apps.
“This report confirms the simple fact that digital advertising funds piracy … that underlying data is the evidence needed to drive action and change,” said Peter Szyszko, founder and chief executive of White Bullet.
“Despite the alarming scale of the problem, today we are fully armed with AI [artificial intelligence] technologies that can both track illegal activity and advance solutions.”
White Bullet said it has stopped millions in ad spending from funding piracy and reduced the profit of intellectual property crime. But still more has to be done.
Currently, there is a recent significant decline in Amazon ads showing up on piracy websites and apps, demonstrating that the issue can be addressed if a brand makes it a priority, the report said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
WHAT ARE NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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