Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Online piracy prevalent among young S’poreans

SINGAPORE — Over 60 per cent of adult Singaporeans have engaged in movie, TV or music piracy, and the phenomenon is much more prevalent among youths. That’s according to a survey of 900 Singaporeans aged 16 to 64 by Sycamore Research and Marketing and InsightAsia Research Group.

SINGAPORE — Over 60 per cent of adult Singaporeans have engaged in movie, TV or music piracy, and the phenomenon is much more prevalent among youths. That’s according to a survey of 900 Singaporeans aged 16 to 64 by Sycamore Research and Marketing and InsightAsia Research Group.

The survey found that 69 per cent of 16- to 18-year-olds and 74 per cent of 19- to 24-year-olds were prolific illegal downloaders or actively streamed pirated content. Most of the active pirates, or 66 per cent, acknowledged that online piracy was akin to stealing or theft, but continued to engage in it. And 85 per cent of the active pirates said the primary reason they did it was because “it is free.”

In fact, 80 per cent of the younger pirates regarded illegal downloading or streaming as a social norm.

Such a widespread mindset will damage the local industries, be it artistes, content owners or broadcasters, said Ms Tan Ying Zh, Assistant Vice President of Content Services at StarHub. “Hence, it is important that we do what we can, alongside the Government and the rest of the industry, to help protect their copyright. In addition, we need more public education to foster greater awareness of piracy and the legal alternatives for consumers,” she said.

Such copyright legislation and enforcement can come in forms similar to those found in South Korea, said Mr Ang Kwee Tiang, Regional Director (Asia) of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Speaking to TODAY, he said South Korea has implemented measures such as site blocking. It has also adopted a graduated response system, known as three strikes, to fight online piracy, which requires Internet Service Providers to cut off Internet access to users after three warnings against infringement.

But such solutions are challenging to implement and would require the cooperation of all the interested parties involved, said Mr Ang.

As for why no legal action has been taken against those who persistently engage in online piracy, Mr Ang said “you do not want to sue a person who is a potential client” and so for now, the industry prefers an educational approach.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.