A crackdown on illegal ‘dodgy box’ TV network streaming is underway in Donegal.
The county is one of several where the illegal streaming is taking place on a large scale.
‘Dodgy boxes’ enable viewers to bypass pay-TV controls, giving illegal access to movies, sport and other pay-TV services.
Despite being illegal, they are still sold by some small retailers and by word-of-mouth.
A number of legal warnings have been sent to “individuals” involved in “providing illegal access to premium TV content”, including from Sky and the Premier League.
The main targets are a number of online portals and services that stream access to premium TV and sports content, often selling ads around that content.
“Illegal IPTV service providers are a significant problem in Ireland,” said Keiron Sharp, CEO of the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact).
“This is criminal activity, and those involved are not concerned about the risks their streams pose to consumers,” he told independent.ie
Fact claims accessing content from illegal providers “poses serious risks to consumers”.
Research carried out by Dynata in 2022, it says, showed that almost half of respondents who illegally stream say they, or someone they know, has been a victim of scams, ID theft, fraud or data loss.
However, a spokesperson for Fact said the current enforcement focus was on the providers, rather than people who bought dodgy boxes to try to save money.
“The action has begun to have an effect with a number of illegal streaming services already taken down,” said a Fact spokesperson. “It is expected more disruption will ensue.”
