With more people trapped in their homes as a result of foreclosure orders, visits to illegal streaming sites have risen dramatically in recent months, according to new FACT research. The British intellectual property organization revealed that links to illegal streaming sites doubled between February and April. However, links to recently released movies have tripled over the same period. FACT CEO Kieron Sharp told the BBC how this increase in illegal streaming could prevent funding for new films in the future, saying: "It is essential to remember that the only legal way to watch films is through third-party providers. Every hacked link we detect denies the rights holder the revenue to which they are entitled and also threatens investment in future content."
Illegal streaming
Although FACT did not reveal the names of newly released movies that were illegally released online in large numbers, the organization encouraged people to report any illegal streaming sites to Crimestoppers. Since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, more and more users have turned to illegal downloading and streaming sites. In March, for example, hacking company Muso revealed that traffic to illegal streaming and downloading sites had increased by almost 60%. However, just as the demand for online piracy has increased, so has the demand for legal online streaming services, with Netflix adding a record 15.8 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2020. Regarding launch illegal remakes, the Oscar-winning film Parasite saw a 240% increase in demand at the start of the pandemic. The 2011 film Contagion, about a virus epidemic, also saw illegal streaming views increase by 151%. Downloading or streaming movies and TV shows illegally not only hurts the companies that make them, but it can also infect your PC or Mac with malware. For example, Microsoft recently warned of a new malware campaign that installs encrypted players on the computers of users who download movies from torrent sites. Via BBC