How criminal websites are getting rich with conventional online advertising.
Digital advertising on the internet has far surpassed traditional media platforms when it comes to global advertising spending and it continues to climb in importance. Many of the advertisements that appear on websites are displayed as a result of programmatic advertising, a complex set of technical operations undertaken by software and without direct human intervention. This type of advertisement is a major source of revenue for operators of copyright-infringing, criminal websites and it can be a nightmare for legitimate brands to find their ads lending an air of legitimacy to such platforms and confusing consumers.
The business of advertising on illegal websites, or “badvertising” has now grown into a major global threat with the top piracy sites earning as much as US $1.34 billion. Bharat Kapoor, Vice President, Online Brand Protection further explains how this system is organized in an interview with journalist, Sabina Wolf of the German TV station, ARD, as she reports in the Hauptstadt Brief how criminal websites get rich with conventional online advertising. SIPI’s online brand safety service, Veri-Site can be used effectively to block advertisements to a range of high-risk sites across categories ranging from fake e-commerce, misleading news, extremist content, and piracy.