Italy facing setbacks tackling pay-TV piracy
August 23, 2024
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
With the start of the new Serie A football season in Italy, the ongoing battle against pay-TV piracy is faced with new challenges. Last month, the Lega Calcio suffered a legal setback, in which it was supported by Sky Italia and DAZN, against US CDN Cloudflare, highlighting the complexity of the issue.
While the court found no evidence of conscious complicity on Cloudflare’s part, the company’s technologies have been used by criminals to set up pirate channels. The Lega Calcio’s request to force Cloudflare to register with the current anti-piracy shield and implement measures to block illegal streaming was denied, highlighting the limitations of existing laws.
Advanced technologies, such as VPNs and other privacy-enhancing tools, are making it easier than ever for subscribers to watch matches anonymously on smart TVs. Italy’s Communications Authority (AgCom) is closely examining these apps and exploring ways to prevent their misuse.
According to Italian daily La Repubblica, the Italian telecommunications regulator is focusing on a particular smart TV app developed by a European company. Additionally, in September, the agency will intensify pressure on two TV manufacturers to prevent users from downloading this controversial app onto their devices. However, it remains uncertain whether such measures will be effective if the app itself is not inherently illegitimate.
In February, Lega Calcio and AgCom launched the so-called Piracy Shield, a platform that allows the identification and obscuring of the IP addresses of sites that illegally broadcast pay-TV content. However, the platform has reached its capacity, blocking 18,000 illegitimate pay-TV streams. AgCom is now working to develop a more robust version of the platform, the Piracy Shield 2.
For its part, the Italian government has pledged to amend the anti-piracy law to address these shortcomings and provide a more comprehensive framework for combating online piracy.