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CASBAA appeals against cable firm on copyright issue
MUMBAI: Members of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) have filed a motion for reconsideration at the court of appeals in Manila against Telmarc Cable Corp, a local cable operator. CASBAA has asked for a reversal of an appellate court decision to nullify search warrants issued against the local cable operator, for acts of copyright infringement. “Protection of intellectual property is our highest concern and piracy is a real threat to the legitimate cable TV industry in the Philippines. The industry has no choice but to energetically appeal the appellate court decision. We believe that a comprehensive look at the evidence submitted to the Regional Trial Court in 2005 will lead the judiciary to reverse its ruling on the search warrants issued by that court.This will give the message that the government is serious in its battle against cable piracy,” said CASBAA CEO Simon Twiston Davies. CASBAA also asserted that after an exhaustive process of probing the merits of the application, the warrants were issued based on real probable cause of illegal and unauthorised decoding, rebroadcast and performance of copyrighted programs from major content providers such as Discovery Asia, HBO, AXN, Buena Vista (Walt Disney Television International) CNN International, Star Group, National Geographic and ESPN Star Sports. CASBAA has 120 corporations that in turn serve more than three billion people across Asia. It was responsible for bringing several cable piracy complaints to the NBI in 2005.
In its motion for reconsideration, CASBAA maintains that judge Antonio Eugenio Jr. of the regional trial court of Manila strictly complied with the rules on the issuance of search warrants by personally examining the facts and circumstances presented by National Bureau of Investigation Intellectual Property Rights division senior agent Joel Tovera and other witnesses under oath during the search warrant application hearings.
Representatives of the legitimate Philippine cable industry welcomed CASBAA‘s decision to appeal. “We believe the case filed by CASBAA is very strong and we are confident that the Court of Appeals will respond favorably,” said Cable Boss (a major local pay-TV distributor) COO Timothy Bautista.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
