Dive Brief:

• The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus sent a letter Tuesday to major advertising organizations — 4A's, Association of National Advertisers, and IAB —​ urging them to take bigger steps in stopping ad-supported sites that steal copyrighted material. 
• According to a study cited in the letter, piracy sites made $227 million from ad revenue last year. 
• Advertisers made a commitment two years ago to fight ads on piracy sites, but the lawmakers feel that, with new technology developments since then, the industry could be doing better as a whole. 

Dive Insight:

The lawmakers are right to feel that more could be done by advertisers to stop ads from appearing on sites that run copyrighted material. What's missing from the lawmakers' enthusiasm are real and specific actions that could be taken to combat the problem. Advertisers aren't thrilled about ads ending up on these sites, either, but it's complicated to prevent it from happening.