Legitimate sources of TV shows, movies, music, and video games are more accessible than ever, but while that level of convenience has seemingly convinced a solid portion of consumers to distance themselves from less-than-legal means of obtaining content in recent years, piracy is rising in popularity again.
That’s according to a new “State of the Internet” report shared by content delivery network Akamai this week, which includes data that demonstrates how piracy had surged in 2021. As highlighted in TorrentFreak’s coverage, pirate sites saw 132 billion visitors during the first nine months of 2021, a 16% increase versus the same period in 2020.
The industry that was hit hardest by piracy sites was television, which attracted over 67 billion total visits, followed by publishing and film, which saw over 30 billion and 14.5 billion visits, respectively. Software was last with 9 billion visits.
“These numbers are global and it is no surprise that there are quite a few regional differences,” TorrentFreak noted in its coverage. “The United States remains the global piracy leader with over 13 billion visits, followed by Russia, India, China, and Brazil at a respectable distance.”
Akamai also shared a listing of the top 10 most pirated films and television shows from January to September 2021. Godzilla vs. Kong and Loki’s first season took the top spots.
Source: Akamai (via TorrentFreak)