Italy fines thousands as crackdown on pirate IPTV targets viewers

Editor's take: Whether these fines will persuade the public to switch to legal streaming services remains to be seen. For now, Italian authorities have made clear that they are prepared to pursue not only the suppliers but also the consumers of pirated content, marking a new chapter in the fight against digital piracy. In a significant escalation of its campaign against illegal streaming, Italy has begun issuing fines to thousands of individuals who subscribed to pirate IPTV services. This move follows a recent memorandum of understanding among the Prosecutor's Office, the Guardia di Finanza (a military police force in Italy), and the country's communications regulator AGCOM, which established a framework for sharing information on users of unauthorized streaming platforms. While the precise origin of the subscriber data remains undisclosed, it is believed to have been gathered during frequent law enforcement raids targeting illicit IPTV operations. These raids have yielded databases ... Read full article.