Verdict regarding illegal IPTV-services

A verdict came yesterday against a man from Eskilstuna involved in the operation of the illegal IPTV services northtv and playtv. Rättighetsalliansen made the police report.

Like other illegal IPTV services, both services offered a large selection of copyrighted movies, series and TV channels to their paying customers. Payments could be made via bitcoin or in a few other ways.

The man, who is in his 40s, has sold IPTV boxes and received payments for the illegal services. He posted boxes that were programmed to connect to one of the services. He can also be linked to payments made to the server hosts storing one of the websites.

Users could pay for playtv via Paypal to an account connected to the convicted man. Payments of approximately SEK 1.2 million were made to the Paypal account in six months of 2020. The man has also received payments on his swish account.

By accepting payments, he has controlled who got access the illegal services, and by sending boxes, he has made the movies available. He is therefore convicted as a perpetrator.

The man and a woman close to him were also accused of money laundering, but were acquitted on these counts because the court meant it wasn’t proven that the money specifically came from northtv or playtv.

The court assessed the penalty to six months in prison.

The verdict shows that the people behind illegal services cannot hide behind objections that they only did a minor part, such as posting boxes or answering questions from customers. The investigation also shows how these illegal IPTVv services bring in large incomes that end up in the pockets of criminals.

Illegal IPTV is a major problem. It affects both film and television industries as well as society. As many as 380 000 Swedish households (9%) pay for illegal IPTV services, according to Mediavision. This generates millions to criminals and organized crime. It causes significant damage to the rightholders and also leads to reduced tax revenues and missed jobs.

Published: 2022-09-13