A survey conducted by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications has revealed that Australians continue to turn to lawful services to access online music, video games, live sport and similar services.
“Streaming services are the go-to for many Australians,” the Department said in a statement.
“Unlawful consumption remains well below 2015 levels,” it said.
“The survey was conducted online and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when people spent more time at home.”
Other findings in the 2,400-respondent survey included that engagement with online content had significantly increased since 2015 and levels of lawful consumption online continued an upward trend, despite some variances between content types.
“Australians are more confident in identifying what is lawful online, with over 80 per cent of respondents at least ‘quite confident’ they can tell what is lawful online,” the Department said.
“When looking for new content, internet (Google) search is the most common first step. Searching in an online store was the next most common.”
It said that when encountering a blocked site with unlawful content, an increasing number of respondents sought alternative lawful access.
“A minority of Australians continue to consume content unlawfully and it is most common in the 12-to-24 age group, and amongst males.
“Movies and TV shows were more likely to be accessed unlawfully by older age groups,” it said.
The Department’s 96-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
