Today, a man was convicted for being involved in the illegal Smart IPTV service. The indictment against the man contained a lot of evidence, and, among other things, pictures and emails showed the convict’s involvement.
Smart IPTV was a medium-sized service that contained thousands of movies and TV channels. The penalty value for the crime for which the man was convicted was estimated by the court to be three months in prison, but the court decided to sentence the man to a suspended sentence and a fine. Although it is good that one more illegal IPTV service has disappeared and those behind the services are convicted for the crime, the penalties are too low. Hopefully, there will soon be cases regarding gross copyright infringement, where the penalty is imprisonment for a minimum of six months and a maximum of six years.
Illegal IPTV is a big problem. It affects the film and television industries and society at large. As many as 380,000 Swedish households (9%) pay for illegal IPTV services, according to Mediavision. This generates millions of SEK in revenue for criminals and organized crime and causes significant damage to the rights holders, leading to reduced tax revenue and lost jobs.
2023-02-06