Nearly half of young Norwegians are fine with piracy to save money, survey shows

Cutting corners: Depending on who you ask, digital piracy has been a topic of controversy, partly due to the ambiguity surrounding its legality compared to physical theft or counterfeiting. A recent Norwegian government survey highlights that acceptance of piracy varies significantly across age groups. Unsurprisingly, younger respondents were the least opposed to piracy, often citing high costs as their primary justification.

A recent survey reveals that nearly half of Norwegians under age 30 have no qualms about streaming or downloading movies, music, or TV shows from unofficial sources. Slight less than half admit to having pirated digital media.

Conducted by Ipsos and published by the Norwegian government, the survey questioned 1,411 participants aged 15 and older about their attitudes toward digital piracy and counterfeit physical goods. As expected, these practices are less popular among older age groups. However, about one-third of all respondents expressed some level of acceptance toward piracy and buying knock-off goods.

Translation by TorrentFreakclick to enlarge

The survey found that 21 percent of participants under 30 strongly agreed that accessing movies, music, or TV shows from illegal sources is acceptable when official channels are too expensive.

Another 29 percent partially agreed. Among respondents aged 30 to 44, the proportion who strongly or partially agreed only dropped slightly, to around 40 percent. In contrast, more than half of participants over 45 strongly disagreed with this stance.

Interestingly, respondents across all age groups were less concerned about pirating content that is unavailable through legal channels. Nearly two-thirds of those under 30, along with 46.6 percent of all respondents, deemed it acceptable in such cases.

Copyright holders frequently argue that piracy harms media industries and potentially affects jobs. Surprisingly, 71.2 percent of survey participants either fully or partially agreed with this assertion, suggesting that many consumers justify piracy despite acknowledging its potential harm.

While at least half of respondents from all age groups reported paying for legal streaming services, 44 percent of those under 30 admitted to knowingly or unknowingly accessing media from illegal sources. Among those who engaged in piracy, 40.6 percent said they would switch to official platforms if prices were more affordable.

Unfortunately for consumers, streaming companies are trending in the opposite direction. NetflixDisney+and YouTube Premium have all announced price hikes this year. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video (which is paid to begin with) recently introduced ads, launched a pricier ad-free subscription option, and plans to increase the number of ad slots next year.

Survey respondents were slightly less accepting of purchasing counterfeit physical items.

Among those under 30, 48.7 percent found it acceptable to buy knock-offs when authentic goods were too expensive. However, only 8.2 percent admitted to knowingly purchasing counterfeit products. The most commonly purchased counterfeit items were clothing, sunglasses, and electronics, in that order.