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As the financial stakes increase and rightsholders become increasingly desperate to suppress piracy, the nature of information delivered to the media demands scrutiny like never before.
Almost all major announcements are geared to elicit a prescribed response, as part of an overall strategy to shape public opinion while delivering on various policy goals.
Claims in Italy, that the Piracy Shield system would virtually eliminate piracy, might've just been misplaced optimism. Perhaps claims of error-free operation can be dismissed in much the same way, along with assurances that companies like Cloudflare would be compelled to link to the Piracy Shield system, but legally could not.
Deterrent Messaging and the Pirate Subscriber
To this background and what appears to be plentiful supply of pirate IPTV services still operating in the Italian market, consumers are under the spotlight. People who subscribe to pirate IPTV services are being warned that every use of pirated content contributes to a trail of evidence that leads right to their door and ends in significant fines.
Despite the introduction of new law in August 2023, complete with a new system of fines for consumers of pirated live streams, it appears that no fines of up to 5,000 euros have actually been issued since then.
What effect that may have had on deterrence is hard to quantify but in March 2024, the public received reminders that fines were on the way, even for those who downloaded apps from legal marketplaces operated by Google, Apple, and Amazon.
AGCOM said that an agreement had been reached between the regulator, Italy's financial police (Guardia di Finanza) and the Prosecutor’s Office in Rome, to facilitate the identification of users. While that turned out to be somewhat premature since nothing had actually been signed, fining pirates is now reportedly close to reality.
Memorandum of Understanding
The “collaboration protocol” between the Prosecutor’s Office, the Guardia di Finanza, and AGCOM, smooths the way for the exchange of information relating to individuals suspected of obtaining subscription-based live sports streams (for now, mostly football) from illegal sources.
“This is a fundamental step in the fight against piracy,” commented Luigi De Siervo, CEO of Italy's top football league, Serie A, during a YouTube broadcast this week.
“Finally, thanks to the protocol signed by AGCOM with the Guardia di Finanza and the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office, the identification data of the users of the pezzotto [illegal streaming devices] will be made available to the judicial authorities.”
The nature of that data, where and how it was obtained, and how it meshes together to prove that an individual consumed an illegal IPTV stream (or purchased a subscription), is currently unknown. Nevertheless, the prospects of almost limitless success are not being undersold; the messaging suggests that resistance is futile and automatic fines are on the way.
“Every illegal use of video content leaves an indelible digital Ariadne's thread that will allow law enforcement to prosecute pirates who will automatically be fined up to 5,000 euros. No one can think of continuing to steal content illegally and get away with it,” De Siervo said.
Suggestions that highly advanced systems and new techniques are being used to track IPTV subscribers are certainly interesting, but more mundane methods can be just as effective.
All Things Are Possible But Low-Hanging Fruit Works Too
Even when restrained by limited funding, red tape, and a thousand other types of crimes to investigate, tracking down enough pirate IPTV subscribers to demonstrate a crackdown would be straightforward for law enforcement. Put bluntly, there's a subset of pirate IPTV subscribers that are completely oblivious or dismissive of the risks.
A database of IPTV subscribers seen by TorrentFreak a few years ago, obtained by the authorities as part of a company investigation, revealed a surprising number of subscribers who opened accounts using their real names, home addresses and telephone numbers. Some of those who used apparently fictitious names, went on to settle their invoices with PayPal accounts registered in their own names at their home addresses.
Based on the assumption that law enforcement resources are limited, and all subscribers have the same basic value, prosecuting those who make the task easy makes complete sense. Given the number of services shut down in Italy in recent years, examples like the above should be in plentiful supply. Even if the authorities wanted to prosecute offenses committed in the past year, that would be very straightforward too.
After targeting a reseller with lacking security, police often gain access to the reseller's panel and by extension, a subscriber list.
In theory, any customer is a potential target but eliminating any one-off or accidental purchases can be easily achieved by focusing on regular customers who subscribe month after month. Depending on the level of proof required for prosecution, something to show a subscribers' intent might come in handy as additional evidence.
The chances of at least some subscribers providing their real names are pretty high, so finding corresponding social media accounts should be very easy indeed. In the event that subscribers use those accounts to chat about IPTV piracy or even buy subscriptions as members of an IPTV service's group, Minority Report-style investigations are unlikely to prove necessary.
That being said, there has been no indication of the scale of prosecutions the authorities have in mind so more significant action can't yet be ruled out. Even then, the authorities can't prosecute everyone, but for the desired deterrent effect, they don't actually need to.
From: _, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
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By David Minister
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