Key Points
- U.K. anti-piracy group Fact sent more than 1,000 warnings to suspected users of illegal IPTV streaming services.
- The campaign highlights that both distributing and consuming pirated content is illegal under U.K. law.
- Fact said the effort aims to deter use of illicit streaming devices and raise awareness of legal and security risks.
Fact, an organization that works to combat piracy in the United Kingdom, claims it sent more than 1,000 warning messages to suspect copyright infringers in that country as part of a crackdown on the illicit sharing of protected works.
The warnings were sent through a variety of methods, including e-mails and text messages, to those using illegal streaming television services that are commonly sold as “IPTV” products, the organization said in a statement this week.
While the distribution of copyrighted material is illegal in most countries, the use of streaming services that distribute such content is something of a gray area in the United States. The law is tougher in the U.K., where distribution and receipt of protected content without a license or other form of permission is considered illegal.
Few people are actually prosecuted for using illegal streaming services, with most criminal cases focused on those who distribute the materials online in the first place. But the warning sent by Fact over the past few weeks serves as a reminder that the law can punish those who use illegal streaming apps as much as it can penalize those who run them.
“This campaign makes it clear that end users of illegal streaming services are breaking the law,” Kieron Sharp, the Chairman of Fact, said in a statement. “The risks are real, from potential criminal liability to exposure to scams, viruses, and harmful content. We urge people to protect themselves and their families by only using legitimate providers.”
Illegal streaming services tend to be popular in the U.K. and other European countries where the main public service broadcasters are supported by a mandatory tax, called a TV license, on homes that watch live TV channels. In recent years, that license has been expanded to include those who watch live TV through the Internet.
Given the popularity of illegal streaming services, the warning sent by Fact was meant to deter people from purchasing streaming sticks and set-top boxes that serve as gateways to illegal TV apps — and to convince people who might have received one of those sticks or boxes for Christmas to think twice before installing them on their TVs.
“We would encourage anyone who is considering using illegal streaming services to consider the risks to themselves, their families, and their wider communities,” Aletha Fowler of the Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit said on Friday. “Tarian ROCU will continue to work with partners such as Fact to identify distributors and bring them to justice.”
