Escalation in illegal IPTV enforcement leads to three arrests

Yesterday (23 July), the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) issued a press release about their operations across the UK over the last month to tackle illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) suppliers.

IPTV allows users to stream television content over the internet, something that most of us will use entirely legally through providers such as Sky, Virgin Media and BT TV for example. The market for illegal IPTV streaming services and devices such as jailbroken Amazon Fire TV sticks has been on the rise for some time and in July, FACT (and its partners, including Sky) further intensified their efforts to disrupt illegal IPTV providers. 

This work has resulted in cease and desist notices being issued to 40 individuals across the UK, and the arrest of three others. Sky also removed over 3,000 social media posts and online listings advertising illegal IPTV subscriptions or “loaded” devices (configured to allow access illegal streaming websites). 

Under the Digital Economy Act (2017), using, selling and providing illegal IPTV services and devices constitutes copyright infringement and the Act extended the maximum prison sentence for online copyright infringement from 2 to 10 years. Indeed, earlier this year, a man from Birmingham was jailed for 12 months for selling illegal Premier League streams and in 2023, the mastermind behind the UK's largest piracy operation was sentenced to 11 years behind bars. 

While the low cost and wide access to content may seem appealing, using illegal streaming services or devices is also a security risk. FACT reported last year that 32% of those who illegally stream content in the UK have either themselves been a victim of fraud, scams or identity theft, or they know someone who has.