The Coalition Against Piracy (CAP)’s most recent YouGov consumer surveys show that while piracy continues to be a major concern around the Asia Pacific region, particularly in Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines where 61 percent of consumers admit to accessing pirate services in each country, site blocking, and in particular government regulatory blocking, is having a noticeable effect in stopping consumers accessing pirated content online.

Countries around the region that implement site blocking showed a change in consumer behaviour to stop accessing piracy services due to sites being blocked and the change was most notable in those countries that used regulatory blocking, said a press release from Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA). CAP is an independent initiative of AVIA.

In Indonesia, more than 50 percent of consumers say that they have stopped or rarely access pirate services as a result of blocking, as do nearly 50 percent of consumers in Vietnam and 45 percent in Malaysia.

Encouragingly, the surveys show that regular site blocking not only stops consumers accessing pirated content online, but also drives them towards legitimate sources, with more than 48 percent of consumers around the region stating they would subscribe to paid online services if the content they wanted to watch was not available via a pirate source.

Matthew Cheetham, General Manager of CAP, noted, “It is now clearly evident that site blocking, particularly regulatory blocking, is effective. The benefits are multi-fold, not only are consumers being directed towards legitimate content, but in being blocked from accessing pirate sites, they are also protected from the serious risks that previous CAP studies have proven are inherent in accessing pirate sites.”

The surveys also illustrated the growing migration of consumption of pirate content via social media and messaging platforms. “However, the surveys also show the benefits of consumer education with a growing awareness amongst consumers of the negative consequences of piracy, most particularly via illicit profiteering and malware,” added Cheetham.

For the first time, CAP’s YouGov consumer surveys were undertaken across several countries simultaneously. The surveys will be repeated across the same countries annually, and in doing so, will enable longitudinal analysis of consumer behavioural trends towards piracy and enforcement measures around the region.