<p>Assuming it is true that internet piracy is decreasing, my first guess would be that enforcement has increased. At least in my country, it has become quite dangerous to download content from torrent sites. I know multiple people that were sued by legal companies specialized in this.</p>
<p>And to put some Economics in the answer, this would be fully in line with Becker's model of criminal behavior:</p>
<p>Becker, G. S. (1968). Crime and punishment: An economic approach. In The economic dimensions of crime (pp. 13-68). Palgrave Macmillan, London.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T14:06:02.370Z
In keeping with Becker - the costs have increased, and at the same time the alternatives have gotten better. No need to break the law, or pay the fairly high search costs if I pay for Spotify.
RegressForward
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T13:30:47.110Z
2022-10-03T13:30:47.110Z
Papayapap
<p>As an ex-user of pirated content (before I had so much discretionary income), I observe that overall content piracy over the internet is much less prevalent nowadays than only a few years ago. For example, see this graph of the Search Trend for Pirate Bay:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mQjvF.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mQjvF.png" alt="Line Chart showing search interest in Pirate Bay decreasing by 98% from 2011 to today" /></a></p>
<p>Why is this happening?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T07:46:37.247Z
I don't know much about this subject but looking at a single provider is like claiming no one uses search engines anymore because AltaVista usage went down so much. A quick [online search](https://www.go-globe.com/online-piracy/) seems to suggest to opposite of your claim.
AKdemy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T13:06:16.190Z
In the infograph you shared, the “top” pirated content is mostly old. See this other search trend for “Watch movie online for free,” also down over 90% since 2011 https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=Watch%20movie%20online%20for%20free
Nic Szerman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T13:08:50.643Z
@AKdemy overall that infograph shows how prevalent piracy is; but it does not attempt to highlight changes over time (increase/decrease in volume)
Nic Szerman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T16:08:38.387Z
I tend to agree with Akdemy. This is still anecdotal. If you look at [free hbo](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=Free%20hbo) it's the exact opposite picture.
Alex
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-02T16:34:55.830Z
Just to be clear, I am not claiming it went up or down. I am pointing out though, that an individuals observation and single Google search histories are insufficient at best.
AKdemy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-03T17:30:49.683Z
@AKdemy BTW interest in “Hbo” increased much more than in “Free Hbo”. So even that reference indicates decrease in piracy.
Nic Szerman
<consumer-theory><law><black-market>
Why is internet piracy decreasing?
Nic Szerman
# Why is internet piracy decreasing?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-10-02)

As an ex-user of pirated content (before I had so much discretionary income), I observe that overall content piracy over the internet is much less prevalent nowadays than only a few years ago. For example, see this graph of the Search Trend for Pirate Bay:
[![Line Chart showing search interest in Pirate Bay decreasing by 98% from 2011 to today](https://i.sstatic.net/mQjvF.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/mQjvF.png)

Why is this happening?

**Tags:** consumer-theory, law, black-market

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I don't know much about this subject but looking at a single provider is like claiming no one uses search engines anymore because AltaVista usage went down so much. A quick [online search](https://www.go-globe.com/online-piracy/) seems to suggest to opposite of your claim.  
> **username_0**: In the infograph you shared, the “top” pirated content is mostly old. See this other search trend for “Watch movie online for free,” also down over 90% since 2011 https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=Watch%20movie%20online%20for%20free  
> **username_0**: @username_1 overall that infograph shows how prevalent piracy is; but it does not attempt to highlight changes over time (increase/decrease in volume)  
> **username_2**: I tend to agree with Akdemy. This is still anecdotal. If you look at [free hbo](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=Free%20hbo) it's the exact opposite picture.  
> **username_1**: Just to be clear, I am not claiming it went up or down. I am pointing out though, that an individuals observation and single Google search histories are insufficient at best.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 BTW interest in “Hbo” increased much more than in “Free Hbo”. So even that reference indicates decrease in piracy.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-10-03. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Assuming it is true that internet piracy is decreasing, my first guess would be that enforcement has increased. At least in my country, it has become quite dangerous to download content from torrent sites. I know multiple people that were sued by legal companies specialized in this.

And to put some Economics in the answer, this would be fully in line with Becker's model of criminal behavior:

Becker, G. S. (1968). Crime and punishment: An economic approach. In The economic dimensions of crime (pp. 13-68). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: In keeping with Becker - the costs have increased, and at the same time the alternatives have gotten better. No need to break the law, or pay the fairly high search costs if I pay for Spotify.  

---

