• The South African Department of Justice has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Partners Against Piracy to further thwart content pirates across the nation.
• The MOU was signed at the offices of MultiChoice, a supporter of the PAP.
• CEO of MultiChoice says the agreement will help in its “coordinated war against piracy.”

We often joke in the office that amid yet another Netflix sub price hike and the deluge of streaming platforms out there, a cheaper world lies on the high seas of internet piracy to get our daily dose of content.

Of course, the corporations behind these platforms are well aware of this. Particularly in South Africa, where a new private-public agreement is going to make it worse for internet and content pirates as the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed a new cooperation with the Partners Against Piracy (PAP).

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the DOJ and the PAP at the MultiChoice offices in Randburg, Johannesburg on Thursday. MultiChoice is a keen supporter of the PAP. The MOU is said to be geared towards establishing a partnership for capacity building, experience sharing, and intellectual property rights protection.

PAP believes that the signing of the MOU will strengthen its task of combating broadcasting piracy.

Stealing digital content is a popular pastime in Africa. Technology security firm Irdeto, a PAP partner, says that people in five major African territories made 17.4 million visits to the top 10 identified piracy sites between June and August 2021 alone. Music, literature, video content and software websites received the most hits.

Locally, the South African Cybercrimes Act of 2020 empowers law enforcement agencies to protect the industry through harsher sentences on content pirates. Meanwhile, PAP operates in several African nations, including Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Angola, and South Africa.

In 2022, PAP welcomed two local convictions of DStv pirates who were arrested for selling Android TV Boxes and IPTV subscriptions. One of the convicted men received five years in prison for the crime.

“Today marks another milestone in the Government’s efforts to fight broadcast and content piracy, which continue to drain the fiscus of billions of rands a year,” said Advocate Doctor Mashabane, Director General of the DOJ.

“Committing to signing this MoU shows our commitment to protect our creative industry so it can grow and attract investment – something that cannot happen without the Government’s intervention,” he added.

“As MultiChoice evolves from a traditional video entertainment business into a diversified platform business focused on technology, we are committed to promoting legitimate content consumption and supporting the creative industry,” explained Marc Jury, CEO of MultiChoice South Africa.

“We look forward to strengthening partnerships with a number of stakeholders, including the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, to wage a coordinated war against piracy.”

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]