After the piracy schemes of broadcasting by audiovisual producers, those who use the content are also under close scrutiny by prosecutors. streaming platforms not keeping active subscription. Trying to unravel the tangle of the criminal organization that he led subscription channels for a fee and was dismantled, at the end of December last year, with arrests in Patras and Athens, the investigator of Patras called eight illegal users to testify under oath.

Users named in the case file confessed to having purchased decoders on a subscription basis from a scheme that provided access to audiovisual content without permission from pay TV providers. Attention is now focused on how the law will treat a particular category of consumers of “pirated” content.

He faces a prison sentence of at least one month and a fine of up to 300,000 euros.

“Based on what is required by law, the cord is a chokehold for illegal users of audiovisual products, which they usually access through special set-top boxes,” – explains “K” lawyer Nikos Siamakis.. Indeed, the fines are severe, in line with what is provided for in article 23, paragraph 2, of Law 3166/2003, which includes provisions for the broader scope of the media. The conditions are that the user knows or is able to know, “according to the lessons of common experience, that the use or possession of illegal devices constitutes an illegal activity.” The same provisions also provide for the imposition of penalties for accessing subscription services through illegal devices that do not belong to the user. As well as the use “for any purpose of legal devices” or for “access to subscription services through legal devices that the person gaining access does not own or use.”

In other words, those who gain access through a set-top box bought on the black market, such as at sporting events, face at least one month in prison and a fine of 500 to 15,000 euros. In addition, if an audiovisual content provider sues an illegal user, an administrative fine of up to 300,000 euros will be imposed. But in addition to administrative and criminal penalties, illegal users of streaming services also put their personal data at risk. This is because, according to available information, in many cases, such as in the case of the Patras network, criminals sell users’ personal information to other criminal groups. It is no coincidence that prosecutors view organized crime, pimping and drug dealing, and audiovisual piracy as communicating vessels.

Moreover, the activities of these “white collar” criminals are very profitable. Suffice it to consider that the ring, dismantled by Patras Security in December 2022, received illegal financial benefits of about 2 million euros over the six years of its operation. Accordingly, the damage caused to companies providing Internet and television services exceeds 10 million euros. To legitimize illegal income, three members of the network opened a bakery, a coffee business and a used car dealership in Patras and Ioannina.

They are valued between 650,000 and 900,000

In Greece, the number of subscribers illegally accessing pay TV content is estimated at between 650,000 and 900,000, while the number of legal users reaches 1.2 million. The above have an illegal subscription with an average monthly cost of 15 euros, and the pirates’ annual income exceeds 160 million euros (at least 500,000 illegal subscribers are moderately estimated). Due to these activities, according to market participants, the state loses about 35 million euros per year, the viability of pay TV due to the restoration of the taxation of Greek content providers (over-the-top) is at risk, while it is estimated that pan-European 18,000 jobs in the audiovisual sector.

According to a study conducted by Bournemouth University on behalf of the Alliance Against Audiovisual Piracy (AAPA), the number of illegal pay TV users in Europe and the UK increased by almost 25% between 2018 and 2021. The income of those who develop this activity increased by 12.6%, to more than the population of the Netherlands gained access to illegal IPTV services in 2021. 12% of users are in the 16-24 age group, and audiovisual content providers lost €3.2 billion in 2021, according to Pan research. Bournemouth.

In Greece, original content creators, in addition to being highly competitive, are also required to control the collection of pay TV fees. In contrast, foreign streaming platforms (OTT) are not subject to taxation.