Anti-Piracy Coalition workshop tackles cyber threats at Illovo
Hollis says, pirated platforms often serve as gateways for organised cybercrime, spreading malware, facilitating hacking, and diverting funds into criminal networks.
The Anti-Piracy Coalition (APC) brought together industry leaders, government representatives, and digital rights experts on September 23 at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Illovo for a Digital Safety Workshop themed Building a Secure, Innovative and Equitable Digital Landscape for All.
The gathering highlighted the growing dangers of digital piracy, which continues to erode South Africa’s creative economy while exposing ordinary citizens to cyber risks ranging from malware and phishing to identity theft.
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Speaking on behalf of the APC, Lerato Mpila stressed that piracy has wide-reaching consequences.
“Digital piracy isn’t a victimless crime. It steals from South African artists, costs local jobs, and exposes users to cyber risks. This initiative is about securing South Africa’s entire digital ecosystem for everyone.”
The coalition used the event to promote its strategic proposal for no-fault statutory site-blocking, a system already in place in many countries that would allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to restrict access to known pirate websites.
The model, organisers argued, would ease bandwidth strain on networks, strengthen online security, protect the creative industry’s revenues, and give citizens safer access to legitimate, high-quality content.
Adding a comparative perspective, legal expert Stephen Hollis pointed out that other African nations are moving more decisively.
He highlighted Nigeria’s large but vulnerable creative industry, which has suffered huge losses to piracy but recently gained protection through copyright reforms introducing site-blocking provisions.
Kenya has also been proactive in this space, showing how governments can give rights holders stronger tools to act.
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“This is a very simple kind of comparative study across Africa. Nigeria, for example, has a massive creative industry but faces constant losses to piracy.
Their recent copyright reforms show how governments can empower rights holders by compelling ISPs to act.
Kenya has also been active in this space. South Africa now has to think seriously about evolving its laws if it wants to protect its economy and compete globally.”
Hollis noted that South Africa’s current framework, particularly the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, provides only limited remedies such as notice-and-takedown procedures, which are too narrow to address the scale of online piracy.
He argued that a more sophisticated legal evolution is needed, one that enables collaboration between ISPs, regulators, and rights holders while closing loopholes exploited by offshore pirate operators.
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