{"id":218642,"date":"2026-03-01T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/the-piracy-problem-streaming-platforms-cant-solve\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T05:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T10:05:09","slug":"the-piracy-problem-streaming-platforms-cant-solve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/the-piracy-problem-streaming-platforms-cant-solve\/","title":{"rendered":"The Piracy Problem Streaming Platforms Can\u2019t Solve"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Piracy Problem Streaming Platforms Can\u2019t Solve<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/the-piracy-problem-streaming-platforms-cant-solve\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-01 05:00:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.wired.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe trade-off isn\u2019t only ethical or economic,\u201d Andreaux adds. \u201cIt\u2019s also about reliability, privacy and personal security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abed Kataya, digital content manager at SMEX, a Beirut-based digital rights organization focused on internet policy in the Middle East and North Africa, says piracy in the region is shaped less by culture than by structural barriers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see that piracy in MENA is not a cultural choice; rather, it has multiple layers,\u201d Kataya tells WIRED Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, when the internet spread across the region, as in many other regions, people thought everything on it was free,\u201d Kataya says. \u201cThis perception was based on the nature of Web 1.0 and 2.0, and how the internet was presented to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, he says, structural barriers still lead many users towards illegal platforms. \u201cUsers began to watch online on unofficial streaming platforms for many reasons: lack of local platforms, inability to pay, bypassing censorship and, of course, to watch for free or at lower prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payment access also remains a major factor. \u201cNot to mention that many are unbanked, do not have bank accounts, lack access to online payments, or do not trust paying with their cards and have a general distrust of online payments,\u201d Kataya adds.<\/p>\n

Algerian students also share external hard drives loaded with television series, while in Lebanon streaming passwords are frequently shared across households. In Egypt, large Telegram channels distribute content across different genres, including Korean dramas, classic Arab films and underground music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew up solving problems online,\u201d says Mira. \u201cWhen something is blocked, you find a way around it. It\u2019s \u2026 a fundamental human instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Streaming Platforms Adapting<\/h2>\n

Andreaux says StarzPlay has tried to address some of the payment barriers that limit streaming adoption in the region. \u201cStarzPlay recognized early that payment friction was a regional barrier to adoption,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s why we…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Piracy Problem Streaming Platforms Can\u2019t Solve https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/the-piracy-problem-streaming-platforms-cant-solve\/ Publish Date: 2026-03-01 05:00:00 Source Domain: www.wired.com…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":218643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.wired.com\/photos\/69a22d897c6ac831ef25ac5a\/191:100\/w_1280,c_limit\/Streaming_WiredME_Web-Lead2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218642"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218644,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218642\/revisions\/218644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}