Külföldi torrent oldalak Hollywood's piracy claims questioned

New Zealand is not the piracy haven Hollywood claims it to be, according to an industry watchdog.

In a confidential submission to a government review, the United States-based Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) called on the New Zealand government to address the severity of digital theft issues, claiming piracy sites are far more popular here than in the US and UK.
Kickass Torrents, which was recently taken offline, was the 29th most popular site in New Zealand in 2015 - compared to 100th in the US and 258th in the UK.

But Internet NZ chief executive Jordan Carter says the data used by the MPAA is unreliable and wrong.
"This info is based on a study in 2013 - close to five years ago," he told Newshub.

"Since legal streaming and download services like iTunes, like Netflix, have become available, the piracy problem has become less. People are happy to pay for stuff and buy it online when they can."

Mr Carter says it's likely New Zealand's copyright laws will be addressed later in the year.

"It's undoubtable there is some piracy that goes on in the world, and if they could toughen up legal frameworks so that everyone pays all the time they might make a little bit more money.

"But the extremes they've had in the past - the big campaigns of suing people and getting people stuck in prison - [there was a] real backlash."

He says many content providers have found investing in "great content and finding great ways to sell it to people" has been a more successful approach.
Netflix has greatly expanded its original programming in recent years, producing critically acclaimed shows such as House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Narcos. It has earned 146 Emmy Awards for its efforts.

A number of piracy websites have been taken down in the past 12 months, with the official Kickass Torrents site the biggest casualty.
The most-pirated films and TV shows worldwide last year include Game of Thrones, Westworld, The Grand Tour, Deadpool and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Source: Newshub.co.nz