Piracy is skyrocketing, and that's not even counting the plundering of artificial intelligence.

The cultural industry is issuing a new SOS regarding the rise of piracy. Again. After a few years of relative stability, with slight declines, in illegal access to cultural content, 2024 closed with an increase of between 9 and 23 percent , according to the Piracy Observatory presented this Thursday. A figure that the Coalition of Creators describes as "worrying." Messaging networks such as Telegram and WhatsApp have established themselves as the new avenues for access. "It is essential and urgent to implement new strategies," warns Carlota Navarrete , general director of the Coalition of Creators.

The data could be worse, because the report doesn't capture the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), which the industry already defines as massive plunder . Large companies—and governments, such as Spain's—have trained their models with copyrighted content, often obtained from pirated repositories. This edition provides an initial estimate of AI's impact, but without consolidated figures. The data presented reflects only the behavior of individual consumers, not the "massive trawling" of technology companies, which, according to industry sources, is only open to legal action.

Unlike his predecessors, Minister Urtasun did not say anything about this data or accompany the sector, even though the presentation took place at the Ministry of Culture. He was in Zamora visiting the walls. The head of the department delegated to his undersecretary, Carmen Páez , who gave a brief speech and left: "This report will be fundamental, and we will take it into account to continue improving procedures and resources." Páez emphasized that the ministry is working on a law to create a Copyright Office , a project that foundered in the last legislative term due to the early elections and that, two years after Urtasun's arrival, remains stalled.

The figures the Ministry of Culture should take note of are certainly worrying. The downward trend that began in 2016 has been broken. In 2024, Spaniards illegally accessed 7.33 billion pieces of content, 8 percent more than the previous year. The market value amounts to €42.782 billion, a record in the observatory's historical series. Growth reaches 9 points when comparing the same accesses, with an additional 14 points, up to 23 percent, if the new block measured this year is added: apps, messaging, social networks, and set-top boxes for movies and series.

Although search engines remain the most widely used route, Telegram (39 percent), Facebook (39 percent), WhatsApp (27 percent), and Instagram (26 percent) are growing as gateways to illegal websites. On Telegram, 40 percent of users participate in groups where pirated content circulates: first movies, then books, magazines and newspapers, TV shows, music, video games, and images. On WhatsApp, the percentage drops to 12 percent.

The estimated loss to creators and cultural industries amounts to €3.032 billion. The Coalition of Creators estimates that this drain has prevented the creation of 188,058 direct and indirect jobs. For the public coffers, the bill for 2024 was €955 million, more than €8 billion since 2012.

Nearly all sectors studied saw increases. Leading the ranking was the film and TV series industry, which saw an increase from 27 to 39 percent, followed by books (38 percent) and music (34 percent). Only newspapers (25 percent) and magazines (21 percent) managed to reduce their figures slightly, both by one point. Images stood at 25 percent, and video games rose from 15 to 18 percent.

With these data, it's clear that all the actions carried out in recent years by the cultural sector and the government "are not sufficient," the Coalition of Creators admits. Navarrete advocates seeking new formulas "that allow us to restore legality more effectively and that many of the actors involved participate more actively, as required by current regulations."