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According to a study by the European Intellectual Property Office, piracy is on the decline among European youth. In France, the average is a little higher. Films and series are the first targeted by illegal downloading.
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Every year, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) updates its study on the relationship young people have with the concept of intellectual property. This year the survey was carried out among more than 22,000 people aged 15 to 24 in all EU Member States. The main finding of this dense study (221 pages): the percentage of young people who download illegally is decreasing.
In France, we pirate more than elsewhere
From 39% in 2016, the rate of respondents acknowledging having pirated at least one piece of content during the year rose to 33%, compared to 60% claiming to have downloaded nothing. In France, the percentage rises to 38% – which includes people who have voluntarily accessed illegal content but also those who have done so. “by accident”. With 28.97%, France even has one of the highest rates of voluntary illegal downloading, only Belgium (29.03%) and especially Malta (42.77%) doing “better”.
The type of pirated content also varies from country to country. But overall, films and series are mainly subject to a mix of illegal and legal practices. On the other hand, a majority of respondents (37%) answered that they only use legal means to access musical content, proof that streamers music like Spotify or Apple Music have permanently settled in the landscape.
The problem of access to content
Logically, the cost of content is the main cause of piracy cited by young Europeans, at nearly 55%. But 29% of them also say that it is the only way to find what they are looking for, 25% praise the variety offered by this mode of consumption, and 21% appreciate being able to access content more quickly. their choice. French trends are similar.
Among the factors that could lead budding hackers to end the practice, the majority response suggests cheaper access to legal sources, at 47%. The fear of a cyberattack (41%), the theft of personal or banking data (40%) or any sanction (29%) comes next. Less than 5% of respondents say that nothing would push them to quit.
The more we study, the more we illegally download
Another, similar question concerns the reasons that may make respondents hesitate to take action. The fear of the sanction peaks this time at 36% in Europe and 41% in France – like what Hadopi still scares some people a little! Overall, it is still the risks incurred by the equipment and the bank card that are the most cited.
One of the most interesting data in the report concerns the level of education of the respondents. It seems that the higher it is, the more the chances of engaging in piracy progress. 28% of respondents who said they intentionally use illegal sources went beyond university, while only 15% went no further than college. 24% of students with an income pirate content, compared to 18% of those who do not – one can imagine that the latter are more financially supported by their family.