More Ad-Citement: Juicing Video Piracy
August 13, 2021
I read “Pirated-Entertainment Sites Are Making Billions From Ads.” My immediate reaction: “What? Bastions of ad integrity helping out video pirates? Impossible?”
According to the pay walled write up, the flagships of integrity seem to be unfurling the jib to speed toward this type of revenue. I learned something I did not know and which may be semi-accurate:
Websites and apps featuring pirated movies and TV shows make about $1.3 billion from advertising each year, including from major companies like Amazon.com Inc., according to a study.
The write up noted:
The piracy operations are also a key source of malware, and some ads placed on the sites contain links that hackers use to steal personal information or conduct ransomware attacks…
Some of these video services provide links to interesting online gambling sites as well.
This quote, attributed to the founder of White Bullet (an anti piracy outfit) is thought provoking:
Failure to choose tools that assess piracy risk in real-time means advertisers fund criminals – and it’s a billion-dollar problem,” said Peter Szyszko, CEO and Founder of White Bullet, in an email. “At best, this is negligent. At worst, this is deliberate funding of IP crime.
Just one question: Aren’t filters available to block this type of activity in the ad systems of estimable firms?
Apparently that’s just too darned difficult.
Stephen E Arnold, August 13, 2021
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