Kodi Box - Societal Impacts

This article discusses the societal impacts of Kodi Box in Singapore, including the new regulations that make its usage illegal. It explores the risks of piracy and the hindrance to creativity and innovation. The article also highlights the benefits of Kodi and its cost-effectiveness compared to subscription-based streaming services.

Running head: KODI BOX – SOCIETAL IMPACTS
Kodi Box – Societal Impacts
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1KODI BOX – SOCIETAL IMPACTS
Many people of Singapore are not fully aware of what an Android TV box is,
according to a lot of them they think that it is just a regular set-top box that runs the Google’s
Android software and it lets the subscribers stream legit services such as Netflix, YouTube or
general TV channels. The Ministry of Law and the office of Intellectual property have
created new regulations that would make the usage and the selling of these set-top boxes
illegal. It is important to specifically categorize the set-top boxes which will be deemed
illegal, because that would risk all set-top boxes to be eradicated (Wong, 2016).
The versatility of Kodi and its open nature have made it hugely popular for people
who want to stream their favourite television shows and movies without paying a huge
amount in subscription fee. Kodi’s free-to-access video content allows the users to stream any
video from whichever website they would want to (i.e. YouTube and Vevo). Not every Kodi
plug-in is designed to display illicit activities of promoting torrent services (Myhra, 2013).
Kodi is a well-designed software allows the users’ access to numerous content in a
convenient, accessible and visually pleasant format. The biggest bonus of Kodi is its cost, this
is because the software itself does not cost any money to download and use, and it seems
perfect for those who are tired of dishing out money monthly for subscription based
streaming services like, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
General Manager of AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) has said that as piracy
methods become increasingly mainstream in the consumer market, there is a great risk for a
malware infection in all the consumer’s devices (Rahman, 2017). Additionally, since the
suppliers of the pirated media will not be known, the consumers risk losing a significant
amount of money if the channels end up stop working. The people who infringe on the
copyright of others are not able to guarantee the quality of the idea or the product that they
are allowing others to have an access to.

2KODI BOX – SOCIETAL IMPACTS
The mere existence of these set-top boxes in Singapore is allowing these IP regimes to
hinder the creativity and freedom of thought earned by the people who have actually
contributed a lot of capital to the creation of media items that the set-top box pirates (Telleria,
2017). These suppliers of pirated material slows down the advances that could take place
socially, which means that society will not be able to progress without the presence of the
idea of “intellectual commons” – the concept that allows for the free flow of ideas that can be
expressed without anyone owning them. Illegal ownership of the ideas of others prevents
innovation, refinement and the basic usefulness of the ideas. Just the way that internet has
developed for everyone in the society today; no one had expected that anyone could make
money off the internet. Any limitations on one’s ability to give out information and have it be
disseminated is harmful when science and culture are meant to be continuously progressing.

3KODI BOX – SOCIETAL IMPACTS
References:
Myhra, C. V. (2013). Illegal streaming as disruptive innovation: How the established
companies within the television industry deal with potential disruptive
innovations (Master's thesis).
Rahman, M. F. B. A. (2017). Protecting the Vertical Space of Cities: Perspectives for
Singapore.
Tellería, A. S. (2017). Mobile Culture in Singapore: From Democrature to Datacracy.
In Between the Public and Private in Mobile Communication (pp. 37-46). Routledge.
Wong, D. (2016). The EPL drama–paving the way for more illegal streaming? Digital piracy
of live sports broadcasts in Singapore. Leisure Studies, 35(5), 534-548.