Big Tech blasted in new report for fueling ‘industrial scale’ video piracy

A new Enders Analysis report accuses major tech companies including Amazon, Google, and Meta of enabling massive video piracy, particularly of live sports, through “ambivalence and inertia,” with Amazon’s Fire Stick labeled a key “piracy enabler.” This alleged inaction allows for “industrial scale theft,” threatening broadcaster revenues.

Fire Stick in the crosshairs: Enders Analysis argues that “conflicting incentives” within Big Tech make illegal services easily accessible via low-cost hardware like Amazon’s widely-used Fire Stick. Sky data from Q1 2025, cited by the BBC, indicates that nearly 60% of UK users who watched pirated material on a physical device in the past year used an Amazon Fire product.

DRM decay: The Enders study also slams the “continued depreciation” of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems like Google’s Widevine and Microsoft’s PlayReady, describing them as compromised after two decades with little fundamental change. Enders’ authors assert this failure has given “piracy the upper hand by enabling theft of the highest quality content” and insist on a complete overhaul, noting Big Tech’s “lack of engagement” suggests it’s a low priority.

Industry outcry: Broadcasters echo these concerns, with Sky Group’s COO Nick Herm telling BBC that piracy is “a serious issue for anyone who invests in creating and delivering world-class content.” Sports streamer DAZN’s head of global rights previously termed streaming piracy “almost a crisis for the sports rights industry,” a potent warning as global sports media rights exceed $60 billion.

The bottom line: The Enders report throws down a gauntlet, suggesting that unless companies like Amazon significantly ramp up anti-piracy measures, content owners might be forced to pull support from popular devices, fundamentally altering the streaming hardware landscape.

Reading Recap:

• Enders details Big Tech’s piracy problem
• BBC covers the “industrial scale theft”
• TechSpot on Fire Sticks enabling billions
• Ars Technica on Fire Stick piracy claims
• Advanced Television on Big Tech’s unwillingness

Meanwhile, in streaming struggles: Ad fraud remains a major headache in streaming, with bots accounting for 65% of CTV ad fraud and fraudsters using AI and deepfakes to mimic real users. While industry anti-fraud programs have saved billions in potential losses, brand safety risks like offensive content appearing near ads also complicate the digital advertising landscape.