Increasingly tough times for the smart ones who try to circumvent the laws by connecting to illegal streaming platforms, especially for sporting events, using the so-called “pezzotto”. If new controls have been in force since January 31st thanks to “sentinel robots”, sophisticated software that catches and blocks the viewing of pirated content, they have already been send the first ones are very salty fines for those who have broken the rules ranging from a few hundred euros up to five thousand euros.
The Commissioner of AgCom (Communications Guarantees Authority) also spoke on the subject in the last few hours, Massimiliano Capitaniowhich placed particular emphasis on the risks associated with those guilty of piracy.
What the Commissioner said
On his Linkedin profile, Capitanio began by stating that the best way to fight piracy “And counteract criminal associations but also legal ones (!) that do business by stealing intellectual property and rights of others”. From here he recalled the need to fine users who use the piece thanks to applications “easily downloadable from the Android and Apple stores but also from the Amazon portals, users of the many sites easily reachable from search engines (which still do not collaborate as they should)”.
Fines for those who go astray
Anyone who turns a deaf ear will receive a very high fine that can reach up to five thousand euros: it is certainly better to subscribe to the various legal platforms and avoid running into trouble with the law. “Perhaps it is not yet clear that sanctions will arrive soon 150 to 5000 eurosand this, as with all fines, is a step that we would like to avoid but which has become necessary, also because those who do business illegally are making unaware users believe that nothing will happen (user warned…)”, Capitanio underlined.
As mentioned, no one should be surprised anymore about the consequences related to the piece since the information and restrictions in this regard had already been clear since the beginning of the year. Thanks to the “Piracy Shield” software, as of February 2, as many as 65 DNS and eight IP addresses were blocked within thirty minutes of the report.who illegally broadcast the matches of the 23rd day of the Serie A football championship”, explains a press release from AgCom from early February. Since then the interventions have multiplied and spread enormously, especially during weekends and the first sanctions are already reaching the culprits.
“The legislation provides that when a live sporting event is broadcast (football championship matches or Formula One grand prix, for example), rights holders can access Piracy Shield to report the services to be blocked. The Internet service providers, having automatically received the ticket created by the owner, proceed with blocking the pirated site within 30 minutes”, explains AgCom. In practice it all starts from the TV broadcasters who have the event exclusively and who are able to trace, thanks to technology, who is illegally exploiting their rights.
What happens in Spain
The problem relating to the coccotto is not exclusively Italian: in recent weeks Spain has also been moving where, thanks to an order from the Commercial Court number 8 of Barcelona, there has been the green light to adopt legal measures directed against everyone those users who watch football through illegal websites. The ordinance obliges the Spanish Internet operators – Telefónica, Vodafone, Orange, MásMovil and Digi – to inform the competent authorities of La Liga and provide sensitive data and information of all users who connect to the servers of the pirated football page. “A common front in Europe can only do good“, concludes Capitanio.
Please remember that in addition to fines of up to thousands of euros, anyone caught providing illegal services risks between six months and three years in prison.