According to data from SimilarWeb, there are approximately 70 illegal football streaming websites in Vietnam, with over 1.5 billion views in the years 2022 and 2023.

During the seminar on “Solving the Copyright Protection Challenge in the Music, Film, and Digital Television Industry” organized by Thủ Đô Multimedia on September 26, 2023, several alarming statistics were revealed.

Phạm Hoàng Hải, the Director of the Content Copyright Center (Department of Broadcasting, Television, and Electronic Information – Ministry of Information and Communications), stated during the seminar that copyright infringement has become increasingly complex. Numerous illegal websites, specifically related to football and movies, have been identified. SimilarWeb data shows that around 70 illegal football streaming websites received over 1.5 billion views between 2022 and 2023. Additionally, more than 200 illegal movie websites attracted approximately 120 million views per month, with the top 10 receiving over 66 million views each month.

Furthermore, it has been observed that some illegal websites have recently shifted to Japanese anime content. This copyright infringement in the realm of Japanese manga has provoked strong reactions from copyright owners in Japan regarding copyright violations in Vietnam.

A common characteristic of these copyright-violating websites is their use of international domain names and hidden information services. They operate openly and frequently change their domain names to evade blocking. These websites often feature harmful advertisements, gambling, and other illicit content.

One typical method of copyright infringement involves these websites livestreaming copyrighted content or editing and sharing it immediately after the content owners release it on platforms such as OTT, terrestrial digital television, and satellite television.

To combat this issue, the Department of Broadcasting, Television, and Electronic Information has collaborated with the Department of Information Security and copyright owners to detect and verify copyright infringements and request Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to these websites. However, this blocking only occurs within Vietnam’s territory, meaning users outside Vietnam can still access these websites.

From August 2022 to August 2023, these agencies successfully blocked nearly 1,000 illegal football streaming websites. Nevertheless, there are still technical limitations in the uniformity of blocking measures among ISPs. Some ISPs block access immediately, while others do so after three or more days.

Although there are inconsistencies in blocking measures, they have been effective in changing user habits. A survey revealed that 23% of Vietnamese internet users stated that they either do not access or access illegal websites less frequently due to the blocking measures.

The Content Copyright Center proposed several effective measures to combat online copyright infringement. These measures include establishing collaboration between copyright owners, government authorities, and ISPs, implementing flexible and immediate blocking mechanisms for newly emerged domains, utilizing various technical measures for blocking access (DNS, IP, CDN), and developing automated blocking tools to minimize time and human resources.

Source: Báo Lao Động