Amazon pledges tougher measures to combat piracy on Fire TV Stick devices

Amazon pledges tougher measures to combat piracy on Fire TV Stick devices

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Big tech giants are under fire for fueling a widespread issue with video piracy, according to a blunt report by Enders Analysis. Companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are apparently enabling "epic looting" of movie and video services.

The report, written by Gareth Sutcliffe and Ollie Meir, claims that the sports broadcasting sector is the leading culprit, due to its increasing cost for legal access. A substantial portion of piracy can be linked to customers buying illegal Amazon Fire TV Sticks, often sold via Meta's platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

According to statistics from Sky for the first quarter of this year, 59% of UK residents who confessed to watching pirated content while using a physical device admitted to doing so with an Amazon Fire product.

But it's not just the Amazon Fire TV Sticks that are at fault. These devices can run sideloaded Android apps, making it easy for users to install unofficial apps that aren't available in the official app stores. Similar issues exist on Android TV and Google TV devices.

The report highlights a paradoxical relationship between big tech and piracy—while they have the potential to help solve the issue, their varied incentives can harm consumer safety by making it simple to discover illegal pirated services, and by providing low-cost hardware such as the Amazon Firestick for streaming pirate content.

An Amazon spokesperson explained to the BBC that pirated content goes against their policies regarding intellectual property rights and jeopardizes the security and privacy of their customers. To combat this problem, Amazon has made changes to its Fire devices to make it more difficult for people to stream pirated content.

Additionally, Amazon has promised to switch to its in-house Vega OS for Fire TV Sticks, a move that would necessitate developers to rebuild all apps and cease the ability to sideload Android apps.

Google and Microsoft are also under scrutiny in the report, which notes that the Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions provided by these companies have witnessed a decline.

BONUS INSIGHT

Big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are contributing to industry-scale video piracy through several mechanisms, while efforts to address the issue are underway but often insufficient.

Contributions to Video Piracy

• Amazon: Amazon's Fire TV sticks are widely used for streaming pirated content, particularly sports, through jailbroken devices pre-loaded with IPTV apps. These devices are often marketed via Meta's platforms with little effort to remove such promotions.
• Google and Microsoft: The DRM (Digital Rights Management) solutions provided by these companies, such as Widevine and PlayReady, have been exploited, contributing to ineffective protection against piracy. The lack of updates and engagement with content owners suggests a low priority for addressing these issues.
• Meta: Meta's platforms are used to market and sell pirated streaming devices, with little intervention from Meta to stop such activities.

Measures to Address Piracy

• Amazon's Crackdown: Following criticism, Amazon has pledged to crack down on Fire TV stick piracy by preventing the distribution of jailbroken devices and illegal streaming services.
• Industry Reports: Reports like those from Enders Analysis increase pressure on Big Tech companies to address piracy and strengthen DRM systems.
• Content Owners' Efforts: Content owners are using "war rooms" to take down live pirate services during events, indicating a proactive approach by some parties in the industry.

In essence, big tech companies are being criticized for their involvement in piracy; however, efforts are being made to address this matter. A more comprehensive collaboration between concerned parties will be required to effectively curtail video piracy.

1. The report by Enders Analysis accuses big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft of enabling "epic looting" of movie and video services through streaming piracy, particularly on Amazon Fire TV Sticks.
2. According to the report, a substantial portion of piracy can be linked to customers buying illegal Amazon Fire TV Sticks, often sold via Meta's platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.
3. Google and Microsoft are also under scrutiny in the report, as their Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions, like Widevine and PlayReady, have been exploited and contribute to ineffective protection against piracy.
4. Efforts to address video piracy are underway, with Amazon pledging to crack down on Fire TV stick piracy by preventing the distribution of jailbroken devices and illegal streaming services.
5. The bonus insight indicates that a more comprehensive collaboration between concerned parties, such as big tech companies, content owners, and regulators, will be required to effectively curb video piracy.

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