Dennis Itumbi, the Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy Coordination, recently stated that the Kenyan government plans to crack down on over 84 piracy websites. The websites include websites like Goojara, FTMovies, and 123Movies. The crackdown is intended to protect local filmmakers and Kenya’s creative economy.
“We [Itumbi and his team, including the Ministry of ICT and the Communications Authority of Kenya] have reidentified several illegal sites that have been driving this piracy,” Itumbi said in recent comments. He continued, saying, “Some of them will break your hearts. But, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to protect the creative economy.” Itumbi also explains that sites like Goojara receive more than 2.9 million daily visits and 18.8 million monthly visits.
Piracy has become a major problem in countries like Kenya, where there are very few options for Video-On-Demand Services. Because of this lack of options, movie piracy, where Kenyan-produced films are illegally leaked, distributed, and downloaded, runs rampant. This movie piracy, in turn, has major economic effects on local filmmaking programs. These effects include local actors, directors, and crew members losing their primary revenue streams and any possible royalties. These effects can deter investors from funding high-budget Kenyan productions.
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