Ad Sponsored Piracy Archives - Page 2 of 8

Google’s “safe browsing” initiative is more bark than bite

by Ellen Seidler | Apr 12, 2016 | Ad Sponsored Piracy, Copyright, Film, Piracy | 0

Despite headlines, it’s still business as usual for Google — Piracy sites full of malware and deceptive ads top Google search

Last fall Google introduced a series of steps to strengthen its Safe Browsing initiative announcing it would include protection against, “social engineering attacks – deceptive tactics that try to trick you into doing something dangerous, like installing unwanted software or revealing your personal information (for example, passwords, phone numbers, or credit cards).
Sounds like a positive step against online piracy since malware and deceptive advertising is online piracy’s bread and butter right? WRONG…

Are more advertisers hopping aboard the anti-piracy bandwagon?

by Ellen Seidler | Sep 23, 2015 | Ad Sponsored Piracy, Piracy | 0

Is online ad industry becoming more accountable? Yep, but there’s still (much) more to be done.

Some good news on the ongoing fight against ad sponsored piracy. Today, Group M, a major player in global media investment announced efforts to ensure that their media partners become certified providers of, or follow anti-piracy advertising guidelines established by the Trustworthy Accountability Group’s (TAG).

Facebook piracy has been an ongoing problem. Is it finally ready to face the music?

by Ellen Seidler | Aug 29, 2015 | Ad Sponsored Piracy, Copyright, Piracy | 0

Facebook has long turned a blind eye to profiting from piracy on its pages. Has the worm finally turned?

This past week Facebook reached a milestone when, according to founder Mark Zuckerberg, more than one billion users logged on to the social media site in a single day. Part of that growth has come from video views (4 billion per day) and so this week Facebook also announced it would (finally) tackle the issue of online piracy that has long plagued the site. In recent months Facebook has been facing growing criticism that it has allowed “freebooters” to rip-off (monetized) YouTube videos and repost them on Facebook, thereby cannibalizing profits.

Ashley Madison ads appear on torrents for its hacked data on Pirate Bay

by Ellen Seidler | Aug 21, 2015 | Ad Sponsored Piracy, Law, Piracy | 0

Ad sponsored piracy run even more amok

This has to be the irony of ironies. According a piece by Lara O’reilly in Business Insider, advertising for Ashley Madison is popping up on the Pirate Bay in searches for the hacked data. At the bottom of the results that list the complete torrent to the stolen files there’s an ad for Ashley Madison’s website. I suppose given all the bad publicity of late, the extra-marital affair website needs to find customers wherever it can eh?

How many millions does Google pocket when YouTube scams advertisers?

by Ellen Seidler | Aug 16, 2015 | Ad Sponsored Piracy, Copyright, Google, Law | 0

Youtube slaps ads on scam uploads and collects dough from advertisers who look the other way.

It’s not news that Google doesn’t take kindly to anything standing in the way of revenue. Its business practices on YouTube are no exception.

In order to stuff the mother ship’s coffers, YouTube will monetize just about any crap upload, whether it’s a terrorist recruiting videos or scams linking to pirate websites. When Google monetizes these uploads both it and the uploader make money from the ads. Does anyone care about this dirty income?

Australia sees the light, OK’s blocking pirate sites

by Ellen Seidler | Jun 24, 2015 | Ad Sponsored Piracy, Copyright, Law, Piracy, Politics | 0

Blocking pirate sites is not censorship–it’s common sense

In a move being celebrated by creators worldwide, the Australian parliament has approved the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015. The legislation will allow rights holders go to court to request that pirate websites be blocked in Australia. The explanatory memorandum, notes that the purpose of the bill is to “reduce online infringement.”

Five years later, why this “stupid Gay” fights piracy

by Ellen Seidler | Jun 1, 2015 | Ad Sponsored Piracy, Copyright, Google, Politics | 0

This month marks the five-year anniversary of my first blog post about online piracy and its link to advertising profits. At the time I was pissed. The movie Megan Siler and I had spent three years creating had just been released, and within 24 hours, had found its way online as an illegal download. One illegal copy quickly morphed into many tens of thousands.

What made me angry wasn’t necessarily the fact the film had been pirated. Though certainly I wasn’t pleased, it wasn’t really a shock. I knew in the back of my mind that piracy was an issue. However, I’d never really examined it up close. When I did, I was surprised not only by the how–but by the why. Online piracy was, in fact, an insidious for-profit business cloaked behind a curtain labeled “sharing.”

Online piracy is driven by profit

It turns out our film–like thousands of others, studio and indie–was just click-bait for a flourishing online market driven by greed. The breadth and scope of this illicit online marketplace was shocking. Examining a wide range of pirate websites I discovered an insidious, profitable and widespread economy driven–in large measure–through the complicity of major American corporations.