The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and partners have started the year by reconfirming their commitment towards tackling illegal IPTV service operators in Ireland.
An operation was carried out over two weeks in December, that has resulted in the shutting down of illicit services, impacting thousands of prohibited streams and ‘end-users’.
Legal notices were served to 13 illegal IPTV operators across Ireland instructing them to immediately stop their illicit streaming activities or otherwise risk facing the consequences, including criminal prosecution.
The 13 legal notices were served across Dublin, Cork, Donegal, Offaly, Limerick, Louth, Clare, Westmeath and Laois. They were delivered in person, by post and through email and the outcome has been successful, resulting in services being shut down, deleted social media profiles, subscriptions being terminated and paid settlements agreed.
Many consumers are unaware that piracy networks are often linked to organised crime, with their profits potentially funding other illegal activities.
While separately, illegal streams carry serious risks of opening consumers up to a range of harms including having their devices infected with malware and viruses, to being defrauded or having personal data stolen.
FACT supports the consumer campaign BeStreamWise, set up to inform the public of these risks, and directing them to safe routes to watch the content they enjoy.
This is the fourth wave of enforcement action to date, since March 2023, and has resulted in the closure of almost 70 illegal services across the country. It forms part of an ongoing commitment by FACT and partners to eliminate illegal streaming in the country and protect consumers.
The action is having an impact on the piracy landscape in Ireland, with more operators being identified than ever before, with more illegal services being disrupted impacting tens of thousands of end-users who would have watched the streams.
Kieron Sharp, Chairman of FACT, commented:
“Together with our partners we will continue to identify and take action against Illegal IPTV service providers. They are breaking the law, making criminal profits and putting consumers at real risk of malware, data loss and identity theft.
“We want to protect consumers from these risks and operations such as this ensure the message goes out. It is not scaremongering; these are real criminal actions which consumers and their families are exposed to.
“These investigations and operations will continue this new year.”
The judicial system is imposing serious rulings against individuals who break the law in relation to illegal streaming. In July 2024, Naas Circuit Criminal Court sentenced Ciaran Donovan, 42 from Kildare to 16 months’ imprisonment for operating an illegal ‘dodgy box’ TV streaming service, King Kong Media and possession of over €900,000 in criminal proceeds. This followed an investigation initiated by Sky’s Anti-Piracy team.
While in October 2024, Cormac McGuckin, 38, from Derry was sentenced to four years at Omagh Crown Court, for running an illegal streaming TV company. McGuckin pleaded guilty to several fraud charges dating back to 2016. His wife, Maura McGuckin, 34, was also sentenced to a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years for crimes associated to her husband’s affairs.
