AUSTRALIAN PIRACY SOARS

Australia’s population may only be 22 million, but 5.5 million of them admit that they pirate movies and TV shows, according to a study by the Australian copyright group IPAF and reported by TorrentFreak.com, which tracks BitTorrent usage. IPAF’s board includes members of Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association of America. The study found that teens between the ages of 16 and 17 pirate the most — 31 percent — and that 11 percent of all adults admit that they stream illegal content at least once a week. The study also noted that pirate sites provide a storefront for the gambling and sex industries and warned: “Parents need to be aware that children who access illegal sites to download unauthorized movies and TV shows may be exposed to graphic pornographic advertisements, unregulated gambling sites, scams and viruses.”