Having the most active file sharers in the world, the Swedish entertainment industry continues to have illegal file sharing problems despite the range of legal options in Sweden. This Scandinavian nation is where the most resilient BitTorrent site, The Pirate Bay, originated.
Now, a study shows that every year, 280 million movies and TV shows are illegally viewed in Sweden. Read on to find out the rest of the findings.
Film and TV Industry Cooperation Committee (FTVS)’s survey findings:
• 71% of respondents used legal services while the 29% used illegal services
• 60% of 16 to 29-year-olds confessed to using pirate sites
• When respondents were asked about the best solution to reduce piracy:
– 43% of respondents indicated that ISPs should play a part in reducing the numbers of user visiting illegal services
– 24% of respondents opted for site blocking measures
– 19% of respondents suggested a warning notice scheme
– 10% of respondents believed that boosting law enforcement and judicial resources will solve the problem
– 4% of respondents thought that harsher punishments will bring results
Per Strömbäck of FTVS says “There is a common misconception that piracy is less of a problem today because we have a wide range of legal options. On the contrary, the problem of illegal services is greater than ever,”
He also said “The situation is not sustainable. For us to be able to continue to produce, distribute and show films and TV audiences want to see and pay for, we need a functioning digital market and measures to stop the illegal competition.”
Respondents said they would have paid for around a third of the legal services if the illegal ones were not available. The Swedish entertainment industry groups don’t seem to have any plans of punishing the public so for now they will rely on their successes in the courts. Still, Sweden appears to be doing well in legal consumption by buying services like Netflix and HBO.