IPTV: a major new threat for pirate service users

A major threat now hangs over everyone using pirate services.

As promised, a formidable new weapon against IPTV was deployed in France during the World Cup. If you have not yet heard about it, it involves real-time blocking of the IP addresses used by pirate broadcasts, a measure tested throughout the tournament.

As Clubic noted, the French Parliament definitively adopted the bill on the organisation and funding of professional sport on 21 July. The legislation validates this mechanism.

Real-time IP blocking for IPTV in France

The new system will not, however, be switched on immediately. The text must first be enacted, after which Arcom will need to adopt a decision setting out the technical rules, checks and arrangements for transmitting data, our colleagues explain.

The legislation also introduces another provision: foreign legal entities that organise a competition or hold audiovisual rights will be able to take legal action. LaLiga, Serie A and the Premier League will therefore have the option of acting.

As a reminder, illegal IPTV servers and pirate streaming websites will be suspended immediately. Broadcasters, including M6 and beIN Sports, internet service providers and the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) are already testing this new tool.

In practice, rights holders will focus on identifying pirate services, before ISPs block the IP address at their request. Arcom will then oversee the entire arrangement. Subscribers to pirate services could consequently see a match broadcast cut off while it is live.

Quoted by Radio France, Arcom deputy chief executive Pauline Combredet-Blassel describes the new measure as follows: “The benefit of IP blocking is that it targets the servers. Once the source is affected, it is still much more difficult to create new platforms.” In her view, although it is relatively easy to create “as many Internet addresses as you want, once the servers are no longer accessible, it is still more difficult to replicate.”

beIN appears to welcome these measures, although it would like them to go further. Sarah D’Arifat, the channel’s legal director, makes the point: “Today, in Spain, they block 10,000 pirate service addresses during one championship day. That is what we block in France in a year.”

Could these blocks be risky?

beIN is therefore calling for automated blocking without human intervention. French lawmakers seem fairly receptive to the idea, as a bill will be considered by the National Assembly in three weeks.

The risk of blocking legitimate websites

While attractive to rights holders, this approach is not without danger: one server can host illegal websites alongside others that are entirely lawful and essential to citizens. We covered last year the issues encountered in Spain, which used the same strategy. The measure has, in fact, unintentionally affected many legitimate websites and platforms hosted by the provider.

A growing number of businesses and users are protesting against, and denouncing, unjustified outages that undermine certain fundamental rights. Quoted by El Pais, Ofelia Tejerina, a lawyer and president of the Association of Internet Users, is unequivocal: “It affects freedom of information, freedom of expression, freedom of enterprise.” More information on this subject is available in our previous article here.