Greater efforts urgently needed to curb digital piracy

• Exisiting laws are not sufficient and need updating
• Ministerial responsibilities to be streamlined as a step forward

THE Kuala Lumpur Digital Content Anti-Piracy Summit was held in Putrajaya on Feb 14 to discuss efforts to safeguard Malaysia’s creative content industry against digital piracy.

The summit was organised by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), in collaboration with Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) and supported by content companies including Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad, Media Prima Bhd, dimsum and iFlix.

In his opening address, Malaysian Minister of Communications and Multimedia Gobind Singh Deo acknowledged the need for the government to be more proactive in fighting digital piracy so that internet users and media consumers do not take the issue lightly.

“Even if users are incapable of appreciating content owners’ artistry and creative thinking, they have to understand that respecting other people’s property online is part of being a responsible digital citizen,” he said.

During a subsequent panel session, Gobind addressed the question of whether existing laws are sufficient, “I think there is a lot of updating to do. Laws exist, but are they sufficient? I think not. The answer to the problem is multidimensional. If we can get matters under one roof, it would be a step forward and a starting point of solving this problem.”

He explained that there is a need to streamline ministerial responsibilities and portfolios. “We need to have clarity in the law so when a problem like this arises, people know who has the power to solve it and how they are supposed to do it, be it by taking action against those creating the pirated product or those who consume it.”