Young people in Malta knowingly access pirated content the most when compared to their peers across the rest of Europe, a study published on Wednesday shows. 

Over a third of them also bought a fake product intentionally. 

The figures emerged from the 2022 edition of the Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard, released on Wednesday by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The scoreboard provides an update on the "behaviours of young people towards intellectual property infringement in a post-pandemic context".

Films, TV, and music 

The study found that in Malta, 41 per cent of young people bought a fake product intentionally while 43 per cent knowingly accessed pirated content. 

Both rates were notably higher than the EU averages - 37 per cent for the buying of fake products and 21 per cent for accessing pirated content.

Among the Maltese respondents, the main type of pirated content accessed was films followed by TV series and music. This was in line with EU trends, where the top three types of content accessed were identical to those reported in Malta. 

On counterfeit goods, the most popular fake product purchased was clothes, followed by electronic devices, also similar to European trends. 

Why buy fake?

According to the EUIPO, while price and availability continue to be the main reasons why young people opt to buy fake products and access pirated content intentionally, social influences, such as the behaviour of family, friends, or acquaintances are gaining significant ground. 

"Other factors include not caring whether the product was a fake (or whether the content source was illegal), perceiving no difference between original and fake products, and the ease of finding or ordering fake products online," the researchers noted. 

For both products and digital content, young people mentioned personal risks of cyber fraud and cyberthreats as important factors that would curb their behaviours.

The 2022 analysis was conducted among a total of 22,021 young people aged between 15 and 24 in the 27 EU Member States, between February 7 and 28.