How Much Advertising Is Going to Piracy Sites?

In a recent report from the Digital Citizens Alliance, the nonprofit organization who focuses on Internet safety has released just how much ad revenue was generated from pirate sites in 2013. Ready for the staggering number? $227 million dollars was spent in online advertising on pirate sites from countless companies such as AT&T, Lego and Toyota.

Digital Citizens Alliance commissioned media advisory firm MediaLink to create the report titled, “Good Money Gone Bad: Digital Thieves and the Hijacking of the Online Ad Business.” Factoring in which sites had the most requested takedown notices and which sites were ad-supported, MediaLink narrowed it down to 596 content sites who were supporting illegal content.

“These premium ads are on sites that are stealing content, which gives the content the incentive to keep going, and at the same time, it damages the credibility of the brands,” said the executive director of Digital Citizens Alliance, Tom Galvin.

Rather than placing complete blame on advertisers, the report is trying to emphasize awareness since many major ad placements are automated and have little to no human interaction in the process.

“The past 10 or so years, exchanges and networks have proliferated. The brands don’t know how it can happen, and agencies need to make sure they’re protecting their brands as well. And with the growth of audience buying, that naturally opens up buys to exchanges,” said Eric Franchi, co-founder of ad network Undertone.

The report makes mention of how much time and energy will need to be invested before these ads will stop appearing on pirate sites. This is scary news for content creators and copyright holders, knowing their original content is being stolen meanwhile the pirate sites are generating millions. If you are worried about the illegal distribution of your original content, do not hesitate to contact DMCA Force so we can work together to put an end to online piracy.