For too long, the war against content piracy has been fought in courtrooms and on balance sheets. We have focused on the arrests, the criminal syndicates, and the staggering, multi-billion Rand figures of lost revenue. While these facts are undeniable, they often fall short of eliciting sustainable behavioural change in every-day consumers. Why? Because the consumer is often desensitised to a threat they believe is happening to some massive broadcaster or a wealthy production house. But the brutal truth, as argued by Partners Against Piracy (PAP), is this: in robbing an industry, we are committing an act of self-sabotage that steals the very foundation of our own lives.
The Consequences of Ignoring Piracy
For Chola Makgamathe, the Chairperson of the Copyright Coalition and PAP, her commitment to creative justice was forged early in her career. She argues that intellectual property is not a dry legal concept. It is the currency of culture and the safeguard of livelihoods. She has witnessed first-hand that piracy is not a ‘victimless hack’ but it is, in reality, cancelled productions, crews who are never booked, and the painful silence of stories that never get made.
Let us stop talking about abstract Rands and Cents and start talking about a dystopian South Africa that creeps closer every time we click a pirated stream. This is a world without coalitions like PAP.
When the Creative Economy Collapses, Everyone Pays
Imagine the entrepreneur in Maboneng whose catering company relies on film sets, or the skilled labourer in Cape Town who builds props, or the student in Durban who dreams of a career in digital media. If the creative economy collapses, these jobs vanish overnight. Affiliated industries like fashion, design, and technology follow close behind. When production companies cease to exist, so does the investment into research and development (R&D) for cameras and software, severely diminishing our ability to create and share our own content. This is not just a loss of African television; it is a terrifying reversal of digital evolution, leaving us with fewer opportunities to build wealth, share culture, and connect.
Piracy Fuels Crime and Puts Consumers at Risk
Furthermore, piracy is the gift that keeps on giving to criminal syndicates. Every time a consumer accesses an illegal IPTV setup, they are not only funding a criminal network, but they are also exposing themselves to substantial cybersecurity risks. These risks include malware, phishing schemes, and identity theft. We believe we are saving R99 a month, but we are inadvertently signing over our personal data and bank account details. This is how the criminal underworld thrives.
A National Effort to Protect Our Future
The fight against content theft must be a movement driven by every South African – from the DStv Explora subscriber to the student trying to get by. Makgamathe calls for modern, digital-ready legislation and a notice-and-takedown mechanism that works at the speed of the internet. Additionally, we urgently need informed consumers who choose legal platforms and, critically, call out illegal ones. Piracy is not an inevitability; it is a choice. We must make the choice to protect our local jobs, our cultural heritage, and, ultimately, our own future.
