A unique anti-piracy campaign to combat content theft, digital piracy

ON-DEMAND video streaming service provider, iQiyi International has rolled out the company’s first-of-its-kind consumer-based anti-piracy campaign #JanganTontonHaram alongside the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS).

The month-long initiative aims to galvanise a public movement around addressing content theft and digital piracy by bringing consumers into the heart of tackling one of the leading threats to Malaysia’s rapidly growing entertainment industry.

Putting thousands of jobs at risk and stunting the growth of the entertainment and media industry, content theft and digital piracy affect most of the entertainment industry’s value chain from production houses, creative and technology start-ups, artists, service providers and support crew.

Causing the local creative industry an estimated RM3 bil in loss of revenue and the government RM157 mil in loss of tax revenue annually, the sector is paradoxically seeing content development and movie launches being deeply affected by the pandemic’s physical safety measures while content streaming has become increasingly popular due to lockdowns.

“FINAS has conducted several awareness campaigns on piracy before, but none of the campaigns provide incentives to those who can report piracy activities,” FINAS deputy chairman Datuk Norman Abdul Halim.

“#JanganTontonHaram puts consumers at the centre of the anti-piracy and FINAS welcomes and supports this initiative.”

Lauded by industry representatives as a “fresh take” on a timeworn problem, the iQiyi-FINAS’ #JanganTontonHaram campaign officially kicked off on the first day of the ongoing CONNECTASIA 2021.

Being held in Kuala Lumpur, attendees span the Malaysian film and TV industry, including audio-visual and content creation professionals, broadcasters and regulators.

“#JanganTontonHaram is a grassroots approach to combating content theft and digital piracy, and is a digital-led campaign centred around several pillar initiatives,” explained iQiyi International’s country manager (Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei) Dinesh Ratnam.

“We encourage audiences to proactively participate in taking down or crippling content piracy. By putting consumers at the centre of the anti-piracy movement, we hope to disrupt piracy where it hurts the most – the demand and consumption side.”

A dedicated microsite www.jangantontonharam.com will host impact statement videos from those reeling from content piracy and fraud; educational tips on how to detect illegal sites and activities, keep data safe, and details legal implications to deter people from getting involved in organised crimes.

In Malaysia, possession and supply of pirated content can be classified as an offence under Section 41 of the Copyright Act 1987 with a penalty of up to RM20,000 and/or a five-year jail term.

Aside from the website, consumers can simply write the hashtag #HelloPoliceiQ at any pirated link shared on social media.

Once validated, they will receive a free iQiyi VIP account which provide them access to a variety of legal premium pan-Asian content.

To encourage crowd-policing and mass participation, iQiyi will run tiered lucky draws based on the number of pirated links reported. “Unlocking” the giveaways once reaching the 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 marks, lucky “reporters” stand a chance to win three Beats Flex earphones, Apple Airpods and iPhone 12 Pro Max respectively. – April 9, 2021

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