Due to the fact that Game of Thrones is exclusive to certain networks, some viewers who don’t wish to subscribe have resorted to downloading episodes illegally via torrents. Is this an issue? Well it turns out that the director of the series and HBO executives don’t really view it as much of a problem, and actually think of it as a compliment.
However there are some who do view it as a problem, namely the Australian government. As you might have heard, the last Game of Thrones episode managed to break previous piracy records and according to the data, Australia was one of the largest downloaders. Apparently this did not sit well with the Australian government and according to the Federal Government, they have announced that they plan to crack on piracy.
The specifics of the plan remain unknown for now, but according to Attorney General George Brandis, they are thinking providing legal incentives to internet service providers to cooperate with them. As it stands, internet service providers are in no way legally obligated to prevent you from downloading illegal software. They do send out warning letters to users when requested by copyright holders, but other than that they don’t take much action.
However as per Brandis’ plan, perhaps they soon might find it in their best interest to start monitoring your activities and actively reporting your illegal downloads. The government has also been put under pressure by local satellite TV company, Foxtel, who has branded internet downloaders as “thieves”. Like we said, it is unclear what the government has planned, but if you’re an illegal downloader, you might want to keep an eye out.