The crackdown against illegal IPTV is in full swing all over the world and in France. But the announcement of the dismantling of this network which operated in several European countries clearly did not go unnoticed, since it had no less than 22 million users. Let’s take stock.
A huge pirate group
In detail, we learn that this service generated the tidy sum of 250 million euros monthly according to the authorities. It offered highly sought-after programs, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+ and Disney+. On the sports side, customers notably had access to Sky (premier league broadcaster) and DAZN), we learn from BFM.
No platform name is mentioned, but the figures provided by the investigators are dizzying. Thus, the financial loss would amount to 10 billion euros for broadcasters. In total, 2,500 illegal channels and servers were seized as well as cryptocurrencies worth 1.65 million euros.
The searches were carried out in different countries at the same time, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia and China, and involved 102 people. Finally, note that the suspects are being prosecuted for: illegal distribution of audiovisual content via IPTV, unauthorized access to servers, computer fraud and money laundering.
In a press release broadcast for the occasion, the Italian police, who largely participated in this investigation, specified about the group that it was “structured on the basis of an associative link between several people resident and/or domiciled in Italy and abroad, with a top-down organizational model, characterized by the presence of associates who held distinct and very specific roles”.
Regular operations
Law enforcement regularly makes arrests, but at much more limited levels. We recently spoke to you about this network of four people arrested in the south of Italy. They are accused of hacking and money laundering. Pending their final judgment, a court has already ordered the preventive seizure of five properties and two vehicles. For more information, you can read our previous article here.
Although they place pirates on the defensive, these operations are currently far enough from curbing the popularity of IPTV. According to several recent surveys, the French are very fond of these services and they justify their use by the prices considered too high for the legal offer. What do you think of the strategy put in place to fight against these illegal platforms? Tell us in the comments.
