Ads on piracy sites ‘almost gone’

The UK’s online law enforcement unit has hailed the success of an operation to halt advertising on piracy sites – launched in conjunction with rights holders and ad trade bodies – claiming ads for some sectors have “almost entirely stopped appearing”.
The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu) claims that since it launched Operation Creative and the Infringing Website List (IWL) two years ago, there has been a 73% fall in advertising from the UK’s top ad spending companies on copyright infringing websites.
It claims that ads from the automotive, food and drink and property sectors have just about disappeared from pirate sites. One of its biggest victories to date has been a 36% reduction in ads for gambling portals on copyright-infringing sites from March to June 2015.
The IWL is an online portal providing the digital advertising sector with an up-to-date list of copyright infringing sites, evidenced and verified by Pipcu.
Operation Creative seeks to disrupt ad revenue on these sites, working with agencies, industry bodies and the music rights-holders.
The head of Pipcu, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Ratcliffe, said: “Not only do the public need to be aware that these websites are not safe places to visit, as they often contain malware and viruses, but the criminals behind these sites are making substantial sums of money from advertising and inadvertently brands and advertisers are funding this online crime.”
The original rights holder partners were the British Phonographic Industry, the Federation Against Copyright Theft, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and The Publishers Association. The ad industry partners are represented by IAB UK, client body ISBA and agency group the IPA.