DPE Commends the Release of USTR’s 2025 Notorious Markets List

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Katie Barrows
Communications Director
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org

WASHINGTON, Mar. 4, 2026 - The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy report (the “Notorious Markets List”), which calls attention to online and physical markets where substantial piracy or counterfeiting occurs. The Notorious Markets List is intended to help private sector organizations and governments prioritize enforcement efforts to reduce content theft. Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning released the following statement on the report:

“I applaud Ambassador Greer, USTR staff, and interagency partners for keeping attention on the harm of content theft through the annual Notorious Markets List. The 2025 report again demonstrates that everyday union creative professionals lose out when content theft proliferates online. Illegal sales and streams equate to less pay, lost contributions to health insurance and pension plans, and fewer future job opportunities for members of the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industries (AEMI) unions within DPE.

DPE continues to encourage USTR to use future Notorious Markets Lists to monitor the misuse of AI for illicit purposes. Without safeguards and appropriate transparency, generative AI will be used as a sophisticated, deceptive tool for content theft and the unauthorized digital replication of individuals’ voices and likenesses.”

About DPE

The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.