Recently, charges were brought against a man in his 30s who was behind the illegal IPTV service Sweden IPTV. The man who is living in southern Sweden administered the website and was also the one who handled customer contacts and received payments. Like other illegal IPTV services, subscriptions were sold that offered access to thousands of movies, TV series and TV channels. The trial is expected to begin in early January.
The Rights Alliance and the police have been working intensively against illegal IPTV for several years. This case can be seen as the starting point for several other cases that are to be tried in court. The work against illegal services will continue with full force.
Illegal IPTV has increased sharply in recent years, while there has been a slight decrease in illegal streaming and downloading. A recently published survey conducted by the analysis company Mediavision shows that as many as 20 per cent of Swedish households use illegal IPTV. It is also a growing problem in other parts of Europe and causes the rights holders considerable damages.