According to TTVK, the Finnish Copyright Information and Control Center, more and more young people and young adults accept and admit to using illegal streaming services. the annual Copyright Barometer survey conducted by Taloustutkimus Oy examined the use of content and attitudes towards copyright and piracy, among other things.
Attitudes towards piracy have remained largely unchanged among the general population: more than half (53%) still do not approve of any form of piracy. However, the proportion is clearly lower among 15–34 year-olds (36%).
On average, just over one tenth (12%) of Finns consider it acceptable to watch a film or TV series available on illegal streaming services without permission. Among 25–34 year-olds, this is already accepted by every quarter (24%), i.e. an increase of eight percentage points compared to the previous year. Among 15–24 year-olds, 24% approve of buying pirated recordings and four percent even of buying a stolen genuine recording. At the general population level, the acceptability of these acts is nine percent and one percent respectively.
The most common illegal activity is streaming from illegal services, which was admitted by ten percent of all respondents (in 2023 / 11%). Almost a quarter (23%) of 15-34 year-olds say that they or a family member have watched, listened to or played material available on illegal services. The corresponding share among 25-34 year-olds was 15% a year ago. 56% of respondents say that they or a family member have used a legal internet entertainment service; last year, 60% of respondents said this. 7% of respondents in the 15-24 age group admit to downloading from an illegal source, and 10% in the 25-34 age group; 5% of respondents admit to doing so at the population level.
Rights-holders should receive compensation
Almost three out of four respondents (72%) agree with the statement that a person who commits illegal distribution should be obliged to pay compensation to the authors of the works, in accordance with the extent of the infringement. One in ten (10%) disagrees with this statement. Almost two out of three (63%) respondents also agree that a copyright holder should be able to find out who is infringing their rights anonymously on the internet. Just over one in ten respondents (12%) disagree. In addition, four out of five respondents agree that search engines should have a responsibility to show all legal alternatives in search results before illegal services (81%). Five percent of respondents disagree.
Men under 35 years of age, and those who have downloaded unauthorized material from the internet or used pirated services, were less likely to disagree with this.
Methodology
The results are based on the Copyright Barometer, which was commissioned by the Finnish Copyright Information and Surveillance Centre and carried out by Taloustutkimus, which is now in its eighteenth year. The research material was collected through personal interviews and an online survey as part of Taloustutkimus’ Omnibus research. The data collection was carried out between September 12 and October 7, 2024, and the total number of respondents to the study was 1,112 people. The target group was the population aged 15–79, excluding the Åland Islands.
Source:
Copyright Barometer 2024. Press release. November 4, 2024. Finnish Copyright Information and Control Centre
Copyright Barometer: Piracy. Report (PDF). November 2024. Commissioned by the Finnish Copyright Information and Surveillance Centre and carried out by Taloustutkimus
Why it matters
As with most other countries where consumer studies have been conducted, piracy rates are higher among younger demographics and males.
