Let's talk the risks of digital piracy with Internet Matters - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

When you can’t access the TV shows or films you’d like to watch it can be tempting to illegally stream them online - but doing so could introduce your family to a dark corner of the web involving viruses, disturbing pop-ups and unexpected pornographic content. Though Digital online piracy is often recognised through dodgy websites and Kodi boxes, it can also occur through any number of apps on mobiles or tablets. Internet Matters would like to hear your thoughts on digital piracy and the associated risks for your children, and how you would speak to your children about digital piracy.

Here’s what Carolyn Bunting, CEO of Internet Matters has to say: “We’re concerned that millions of parents don’t realise the amount of inappropriate, even pornographic, content children can find or stumble upon unexpectedly when watching TV and video content that is streamed illegally online. This issue has been growing for some time and we want to try and address the problem and highlight the risks parents are unknowingly taking when their children use open source media players, like Kodi boxes, to stream content illegally.”

Perhaps you’re completely in the dark about digital piracy? Perhaps you think the risks are worth it? Are you concerned about your child accidentally or even intentionally accessing illegal or even inappropriate content while watching cartoons, kids shows and films through open source media players? We’re interested in getting your thoughts about digital piracy and any tips you have for other parents speaking to their children about it so that they understand the risks.

All who post below will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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Unfortunatley digital piracy is extremely common nowadays and with the younger generation is seen as the norm, however when my lg is old enough id explain to her what digital piracy actually is and discuss the consequences of it. So she has a good understanding of it

Piracy has always been around, from the days of videos and cassette players recording. However the penalties are much more severe, when my broadband provider sent me an email stating that I had downloaded illegally my service would be suspended if it happened again. When I confronted members of my family. my son owned up that he had used an illegal streaming site (which he had learned from YouTube). I went through the reasons why this should not be done, and he totally understood.
I thing YouTube should vet it's content and remove such 'tutorials'. I have changed my Internet settings with a higher privacy to stop any other activity in my home.
I feel schools in their IT lessons should cover this issue.

Not a problem yet as mine are too young. This affects all of us though and careful attention needs to be paid to all online activities. When the children are old enough then I will sit them down and explain the risks and how to mitigate them.

Its a huge subject, and i think my main moral that i try to pass on to my offspring is to live an honest life, and to follow the gut instinct, the internet is full of risk and danger and they are probably more tech informed than myself even though im pretty savvy!

I've had a talk with my 14 year old daughter and she knows she isn't allowed to access any illegal site and the consequences of doing so, unfortunately a few of her friends do, and she has told me that she has seen pornographic content that has popped up when using these sites which makes me angry and fearful over what our children are being exposed to and makes me question how I can protect her when she is with others who do not have any qualms about accessing illegal online sites.

Our little boy is only 5 but it appears he is being taught loads of things about computing etc and already knows the dangers of being online. I am confident they will also be educated in piracy etc

Once again a topic that is all about education and understanding - we cannot educate our little darlings unless we fully understand too! The cinema is fun and a real treat, a family day out - so pointing out that this would not happen if piracy was supported as people would go out of business is a good starting point. I monitor computer usage carefully and certainly no streaming etc. Wifi is off at bedtime

It is so rife that is is seen as socially acceptable. I have never heard my children tell me they cover this sort of thing in school. Yes, they look at internet safety, but nore sure this has ever come up or not...

My children wouldn't know where to find pirate stuff or feel the need to, they use YouTube or Netflix.
I do worry about pop ups and unsuitable content with some games they access on the Internet though, so I'm quite strict with those.

Just need to let them know that you can't get everything instantly and if they are wanting something they are unable to get from legit services i.e netflix/prime just tell us and we will be able to help/buy- the thing i love about prime is if they don't give it for free you can do a rental of it - and google play too

I speak to them frankly about the dangers of this and also the benefits to the industry if you don’t use pirate material

Until they are at an age when they can understand the risks, parental locks and supervised internet access are key

I only use Netflix and Sky movies for films and tv shows because the picture is a better quality and I just feel better knowing that I'm doing what's right and fair. I also don't want to invite loads of spyware and dodgy popups to my devices x

i think we probably all need educating on this subject, i know i find it all confusing.

My kids learn about internet safety in school and know what to do and what not to do! Also with netflix, sky and amazon prime there is v little need for them to search to watch movies which aren't already available to them

I think it's really scary...as nowadays you can watch content on so many different devices it's getting increasingly harder to monitor what the kids are actually watching. The internet should remain free but there should be better controls over harmful content.

mine are now old enough to make their own decisions, but I must admit we have discussed the piracy issue

you hear so many horror stories about what might be chopped into pirate movies - it's a 'no go' for us
It's so easy to download a movie from a provider, such as Amazon or netflix, or buy from the stores

Our kids don't watch TV unsupervised and only watch stuff through Netflix or Amazon prime. I am sure it will get trickier when they get older but like anything else, you just need to have a conversation and explain that piracy is illegal and they shouldn't do it.

It's something that definitely needs to be addressed in all aspects of life, whether it be at home and taught at school. We spend all of our time telling our children not to be involved in anything illegal and how bad it is but when it comes to watching programs illegally we're all guilty of doing it. The problem is not having the access to watch programs from other countries as they come out, same way that all the programs on netflix vary depending on what country you are in.

Aside from the ethics of intellectual property rights, you could easily download viruses or malware from a dodgy streaming site.

There are two key issues 1. A debate on what is theft, intellectual property etc and 2. Consequences if caught could be life long. Just not worth it as well as ethically questionable. The trouble is so much is free they don't always know why you tubes videos are free etc and why not others.

i think its very difficult these days, so much of illegal downloading etc going on, but my son loves music and i caught him downloading it in his phone not quite legally so i have set up a spotify account for him to use and he does jobs for me to pay for it. I do think schools should teach more awareness as parents sometimes do not see how this will impact their children due to not even having internet let alone facebook when they grew up

It has been around for years! I think school education would help from an early age. My son has come across inappropraie things on youtube and he always comes to me and tells me and we talk about it. I have in past watched pirated films but not anymore as the quality is terrible! the sad thing is a trip to cinema is an expensive day out now!