Singapore's Ongoing Blocking of Pirate Sites Protects Consumers And Prevents Potentially Wider Harm

SINGAPORE, Feb 17, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) - The Asia Video Industry Association’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) welcomes the Singapore High Court’s latest order to block another 22 illegal streaming sites and 70 associated domains responsible for the distribution of illegally streamed content in Singapore.

The Court’s order follows on from a similar order obtained in Singapore by the Premier League in November 2024 and continues the push by its applicants BBC Studios, the Premier League, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and LALIGA, that in recent years has seen the blocking of hundreds of illegal streaming sites and hundreds more associated domains that were offering access to some of the most sought-after content in Singapore including live sports, drama and entertainment. The order is also part of a wider campaign by CAP and its members against online piracy in the region, including in-depth analysis into piracy trends in the region, and the harms caused to both consumers and the potentially wider impact from piracy services that are essentially illegal operations run by criminals.

“There is now extensive evidence of the links between piracy services and consumer harm, including risks of malware infection, identity theft and viruses. A 2024 study undertaken showed that consumers accessing pirate sites in Singapore are nearly four times more likely to be exposed to a cyber threat compared to a mainstream site(1), and blocking access to piracy services is a great step in preventing this type of harm,” said CAP’s General Manager, Matt Cheetham. “Recent research has also shown that piracy services could have wider potential harm, with illegal streaming devices (ISDs) shown to be riddled with compromised apps and pre-installed malware targeting personal data. These devices can be remotely hijacked and potentially used for more widespread attacks on other devices and broader networks(2)”, added Cheetham.

(1) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4709637
(2) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4986107

About the Asia Video Industry Association

The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves to make the video industry stronger and healthier through promoting the common interests of its members. AVIA is the interlocutor for the industry with governments across the region, leads the fight against video piracy through its Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and provides insight into the video industry through reports and conferences aimed to support a vibrant video industry.

For media enquiries and additional background please contact:

Charmaine Kwan, Head of Marketing and Communications | charmaine@avia.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/asiavideoia |X: @AsiaVideoIA