Google conducts the biggest IPTV and anti-piracy purge in its history
Google processed at least 3.5 billion content takedown requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) last year, setting a new record in the battle against IPTV and digital piracy. In addition to IPTV, the company’s actions are focused on illegal downloads of books, music, and streaming sites.
However, experts are cautious in assessing the battle that Google appears to have been waging for some time. Similar to what happens with spam scams, this campaign, if you will, reveals another reality: those who use this type of content illegally continue to find ways to continue doing so.
The data is surprising. Fifteen years ago, Google processed about 250,000 removal requests per year. Today, the same amount is processed in just about 36 minutes. And in February 2023, the company announced that it had surpassed 8 billion DMCA requests in its backlog, according to some specialized media outlets.
One of the sectors most affected by this campaign from Google is pirated IPTV service. These are services that allow illegal access to paid TV channels and live sports events without a legitimate subscription.
However, the events point to another fact that is at least as curious and seemingly contradictory. It is precisely anti-piracy measures that are responsible for the increase in content removal requests. The explanation is simple: fraudulent sites simply change domains, and thus the cycle seems to increase almost endlessly.
In fact, the 3.5 billion deletions in a single year clearly show that piracy and IPTV are still a global problem, and there is no final solution in sight, at least for now. Although Google seems to be trying to stamp it out, cybercriminals show no interest in giving up.