Anti-Piracy Group Recruits Teens to Keep Up with Social Media Piracy Trends

Piracy is by no means exclusive to any particular generation but among the general public, it’s often associated with younger people.

This notion may very well change over time as the Internet-native generation gets older. That said, younger people tend to be more open to change, also when it comes to piracy habits.

Over the past two decades, new online piracy sites, apps and other consumption methods have emerged. This can pose quite a challenge for anti-piracy outfits, whose main goal is to spot new piracy trends and nip them in the bud.

Social Media Piracy Panel

To help with this ongoing process, Danish anti-piracy group Rights Alliance plans to involve youth directly. This week, a job listing appeared online offering teens an hourly wage of 150 Danish kroner (~US$22) to join a piracy discussion panel.

“We want to know more about young people’s ways of being and behaving on social media – and online in general. With your help, we will become much wiser about young people’s behavior and will be able to reach new heights in our work.”

Rights Alliance is specifically looking for young people between the ages of 15 and 17. These teens will join a panel of eight peers who, together with an employee from the anti-piracy group, will discuss piracy-related Internet and social media developments.

Friends and Family are Safe

There’s no need for prospective candidates to be deeply involved in illegal activities or to expose pirating friends. The main goal is to learn how young people are exposed to pirated media during their online activities, which can help to spot emerging threats.

“It is important for us to emphasize that you should not disclose yourself, your friends or others in your social circle. The sole purpose is to help us learn more about current trends,” Rights Alliance clarifies.

According to the job listing, each panel meeting will last for roughly two hours with three tentatively scheduled for the coming year. The meetings will take place in Copenhagen and travel expenses will be covered.

While it’s unusual for anti-piracy organizations to recruit teenagers, it makes a lot of sense. Piracy preferences change rapidly and obtaining direct input from younger people is a relatively effective way to keep an eye on new developments.

Preventing Bad Habits

Speaking with TorrentFreak, Rights Alliance director Maria Fredenslund says that the panel should help to provide more insight into the habits and behavior of today’s youth on social media.

“We are especially looking into how we can educate and perhaps prevent young people from forming bad habits with regard to consuming illegal content like live football, films, etcetera, on social media platforms,” Fredenslund notes.

Online piracy remains a major challenge in Denmark. Last year, an annual survey carried out by Mediavision revealed that movie and TV piracy had reached the highest level in nine years. According to the same research, YouTube and Facebook were cited as the most used piracy sources, but it’s likely they’re just the tip of the iceberg.