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Pirate Sites Eye Profit as Russian Bill Imposes Moral Values on Streaming Services
Already reeling from the economic fallout of the Ukraine war, sanctions, and rampant inflation, Russia's legal streaming services now face a new threat: increased state restrictions. Draft law aims to make the availability of distribution certificates dependent on meeting state perceptions of traditional moral values, for both new and existing content libraries. In the illegal market, unregulated pirate sites face no such restrictions.
Decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) networks offer network participants (peers) the means to communicate or otherwise interact with each other directly. Since each peer acts as both a client and a server, central servers or no longer required.
Removing this potential point of network failure makes P2P systems more robust. And by removing the central point of control, distributed networks become more difficult to shut down. As a result, decentralized networks have been described as an antidote to government overreach, in addition to facilitating mass distribution of copyrighted content, of course.
The potential for both of these features to come into play at the same time is extremely rare. However, when censorship raises its head, decentralization may have something to offer.
All For the Good of the Country
Signed by President Vladimir Putin on November 9, 2022, Decree No. 809 concerns a strategic plan for “countering sociocultural threats to the national security of the Russian Federation” through the promotion and defense of traditional family values, moral principles, productive labor, patriotism, and “service to the Fatherland.”
Threats to traditional values come in various shapes and sizes. Extremist and terrorist organizations receive top billing, followed by news media and communication platforms, and the actions of the United States and other “unfriendly foreign states.”
“Federal executive agencies in charge of defense, national security, internal affairs, public order and other government agencies are responsible for carrying out this state policy within their respective areas of purview,” the decree notes.
With government contracts (and guidance), available to those who, among other things, create audiovisual content supporting these goals, legal streaming services have been identified as an area of potential interest.
Cinema ‘Depressing’ But Online Cinemas ‘Surge’…For Now..
Results for the cinema sector in the first half of 2024 were described as “depressing” and “catastrophic” but for online cinemas (streaming platforms), a 42% increase in sales over the previous year suggested that business was headed in the right direction.
Mindful of the requirements of Decree 809, on December 12, 2024, a new bill was submitted to the State Duma containing proposals to amend the Federal Laws “On Information” and “On State Support for Cinematography.”
The bill states that streaming services will be required to obtain distribution certificates from the state, similar to those currently obtained by physical cinemas.
No Morals? No Certificates
Posting on VK, actor and State Duma member Dmitry Pevtsov explained why he and his colleagues feel that certification is necessary.
“[M]y colleagues and I submitted a bill to the State Duma for consideration, which proposes that discrediting spiritual and moral values be considered grounds for refusing to issue a distribution certificate,” Pevtsov wrote.
“It is proposed to supplement the article of the law on cinematography that regulates the issuance of a distribution certificate with the words that a distribution certificate will not be issued if the film contains “materials that promote the denial and (or) discredit traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”
“The bill was developed in order to implement Decree 809 of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin “On approval of state policy on the preservation and strengthening of traditional spiritual and moral values.”
Too Costly, Too Burdensome, Counterproductive
The Commission of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has voiced opposition to the bill. The organization complained that, through the introduction of new and significant risk of financial losses, implementation would negatively impact the production and distribution of TV shows.
RSPP estimates that the additional annual cost to copyright holders, producers, distributors, and operators of legal streaming platforms, could reach half a billion rubles (US$5.8m). Since the proposal seeks to impose certification for existing content, that would mean further costs of 1.5 billion rubles (US$17.3m). And since up to 3,000 certificates are issued on an annual basis, a burden of issuing up to 20 times more would fall on the Ministry of Culture.
Non-Certified Analysis and Opinion
Speaking for the RSPP, anti-piracy veteran Alexey Byrdin warns that the new law, believed to affect around 50,000 films and TV shows, would not only damage the developing legal market, but also drive people towards piracy.
Russia’s legal streaming platforms agree. Kinopoisk describes the bill as extreme and harmful. Ivi and Okko warn that potential restrictions on content considered unsuitable for public consumption, could see viewers heading for the door towards less restrictive platforms.
Ivi says the obvious beneficiaries would be the operators of pirate sites, whose anonymity and nature of business avoids regulation and any requirement to come into line. Okko believes that the bill gifts pirate platforms a competitive edge, while the Media and Communications Union warns that restrictions may prove counterproductive.
Any customers driven towards unlicensed platforms would almost certainly find content libraries with little or no restrictions, thereby undermining the aims of the decree itself.
A SecurityLab report on RSPP’s opposition provided a link to the statement published on RSPP’s website. Published on February 18, the statement has since been removed.
