Org calls for new changes in operating systems

Aug 4, 2016 09:24 GMT  ·  By
Microsoft itself is fighting piracy, with Windows and Office among the most impacted products
   Microsoft itself is fighting piracy, with Windows and Office among the most impacted products

Windows and Office are two of the most impacted software products when it comes to the high level of piracy around the world, and this is exactly the reason Microsoft should introduce new methods of blocking the download of illegal content straight from the operating system level.

This is the conclusion of a report published by Black Market Watch and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime regarding ways to tackle piracy in Sweden, with hopes that similar measures could be adopted worldwide at some point in the future.

Specifically, the organization claims that Microsoft, Apple, and Google can introduce piracy-blocking filters in their operating systems and thus make it impossible for users to download illegal content anyway. This would make torrent trackers and other piracy content distribution channels obsolete because, this way, users wouldn’t be allowed to download files, no matter if these sources are available or not.

Furthermore, the organization claims (document in Swedish) that these companies need to be encouraged, and if this doesn’t work, “regulated” in order to block downloads of copyright infringement material, according to a report from TorrentFreak.

“Other players that possess the potential ability to limit piracy are the companies that own the major operating systems which control computers and mobile devices such as Apple, Google and Microsoft,” it says.

The Windows 10 example

The aforementioned report uses Windows 10 as the living proof that such a thing can be done, although it’s only based on pure speculation, and no evidence is brought in this regard.

Specifically, Windows 10 is described as a possible way to block piracy at the operating system level, citing older reports that suggested Microsoft planned to ban users from playing pirated games on their PCs.

Back in August 2015, updates that Microsoft made to its terms and services made everyone believe that the company wanted to block pirated software on Windows 10 PCs using an automatic detection system similar to the one proposed by today’s new report.

The terms pointed out that Microsoft might “download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices.”

Despite the fact that Redmond strongly denied these claims shortly after that, pirate websites were quick to respond and blocked access for computers running Windows 10, in an attempt to prevent additional risks that would have been caused by such a protection system.

Windows 10’s spying claims didn’t help either, as many accused Microsoft of using the new operating system to collect data about users and the content on their computers.

For the moment, an official statement from Microsoft and Apple isn’t available to see how the two companies react to this proposal, but we’ve reached out to both, and we’ll update the article with more info when it becomes available.