In a recent move, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince threatened to interrupt the Winter Olympics to uphold free speech when penalized by Italian authorities for not halting pirate streams. This declaration drew a pointed response from Akamai’s CEO, Dr. Tom Leighton, who viewed Prince’s stance as indirect criticism. Prince’s demands for free speech drew fire from Leighton, illustrating the divide in approaches to managing piracy. Dr. Leighton argued that claiming free speech rights to defend piracy is misleading and potentially harmful. ‘It’s crucial to differentiate between protecting intellectual property and obscuring it under free speech pretenses,’ he asserted in a LinkedIn post. During a follow-up discussion, he reinforced this distinction, underscoring that theft of digital content should not be confused with freedom of speech. Akamai maintains stringent measures to curb piracy, opting for proactive interventions when illegal activities are detected on its services. Leighton challenges IP blocking as the sole method to combat piracy, advocating for a comprehensive strategy involving diligent piracy detection and removal efforts. Emphasizing a coordinated response, he champions a ‘deterrence by design’ philosophy, urging public-private partnerships to effectively reduce piracy. Contrary to Prince’s approach, Akamai emphasizes cybersecurity protocols and content watermarking to identify unfair resources exploitation. Dr. Leighton calls for collaborative efforts from major stakeholders to deter piracy comprehensively. Observing emerging AI technologies, Leighton believes Akamai can significantly contribute to data processing at the edge through its Linode acquisition. With plans to expand its infrastructure to about 100 cities, Akamai aims to enhance AI capabilities, demonstrating its commitment to innovation and proximity to end-users without enabling piracy.