AT the recent second meeting of the Technical Committee on Digital Content Piracy, three new initiatives were announced to combat Malaysia's rising digital piracy issues.
National Film Development Corporation (Finas) chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib, who led the meeting, highlighted the committee's focus on using artificial intelligence for monitoring, introducing invisible watermarks and running public awareness campaigns to highlight that digital piracy is a crime.
"Like it or not, we can't ignore AI because it enables us to identify the platforms where piracy originates and helps us enforce control measures," Azmir said.
"During the meeting, we gathered insights from committee members on optimising AI technology for this purpose.
"In the near future, we plan to publish a report detailing our AI strategy to provide a clearer picture of how it will be implemented."
The meeting, held at Finas headquarters in Petaling Jaya, also discussed introducing invisible watermarks, a technology that would allow authorities to trace the origin of pirated films.
Azmir added: "Invisible watermarks help us track the first point of release for pirated content. Besides that, we're launching a public service announcement (PSA) campaign to educate the public on the consequences of digital piracy."
The session was attended by Lembah Jaya assemblyman Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad (better known as Altimet), representatives from the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), CyberSecurity Malaysia and Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, as well as media companies Media Prima Bhd and Astro.
As an initial step, the committee will produce two short PSA videos about digital piracy.
"These videos will be broadcast on TV, shown in cinemas, and shared on social media platforms.
"We hope to roll out the campaign this year, continuing our anti-piracy efforts with regular updates," Azmir explained.
He added that the committee is considering celebrity involvement in the campaign, as public figures impacted by piracy can lend credibility to the message.
"Media Prima and Astro have also pledged support, especially as they both have major film releases coming up."
The committee presented a statistical report showing platforms most commonly associated with digital piracy in Malaysia between 2021 and this year.
According to the report, Telegram has emerged as a significant platform for piracy, surpassing Facebook, Google Drive, YouTube and TikTok.
Between January and September this year alone, 55 piracy links were detected on Telegram, though only 30 could be successfully removed.
Azmir acknowledged that Telegram posed the biggest challenge for anti-piracy efforts.
"Previously, platforms like Facebook were more commonly used for pirated content. However, streaming and Telegram have now taken the lead.
"Telegram is especially problematic because it is unregulated, lacks a local office, and does not use Internet protocol addresses for traceability.
"This allows users to upload high-definition videos of entire films."
In response to these challenges, MCMC has proposed a new regulatory act requiring chat platforms, including Telegram, to register with the commission.
"We'll see by January next year whether Telegram complies. Although this requirement alone may not eliminate piracy on the platform, it would at least give us a point of contact for future incidents," said Azmir.