The problem for rightsholders is that copyright cases are complex, difficult to prove, and won\u2019t end in a prison sentence under civil law. A stronger,\u00a0criminal<\/em>\u00a0angle might prove more persuasive.<\/p>\n The Federation Against Copyright Theft, which acts for the Premier League, SKY, and BT Sport, came up with a solution \u2013\u00a0Section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006<\/a>, which criminalizes the act of obtaining any kind of service dishonestly.<\/p>\n With a potential crime now part of the equation, the logical conclusion for Joe Public is that people risk being arrested in their own homes for watching an unlicensed stream. Of course, people also need to be persuaded that an underfunded police force doesn\u2019t have bigger fish to fry.<\/p>\n Early January, FACT sent out a press release titled \u201cPolice visit homes across the UK to issue warnings to subscribers of illegal sports streaming services.\u201d The image below shows the first two paragraphs;<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019ll return to the first paragraph shortly, but as anyone can see, there are two distinct statements. One says that FACT and police will be visiting homes. The second says that 1,000 people were identified after a raid on a streaming service. Nowhere does it say that FACT and police will be visiting the homes of 1,000 people.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dozens of articles just like these perpetuated the idea of a massive crackdown but the truth is more mundane. Some people will indeed get a personal visit, but the rest will be contacted by email, as confirmed by FACT when TorrentFreak questioned the volume.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get this absolutely clear. While it is illegal under both civil and criminal law, nobody has ever gone to prison for simply watching an unauthorized stream in the UK. That doesn\u2019t mean it won\u2019t eventually happen, but the snippet (below) from FACT\u2019s press release shouldn\u2019t have been reported in isolation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Important and relevant information about these men was made available by FACT at the same time but given no weight in popular media. That led to widespread misinformation that could\u2019ve been avoided.<\/p>\n The prospect of ordinary people going to prison for simply viewing an unlicensed stream is an extraordinary claim and it\u2019s a journalist\u2019s job to investigate extraordinary claims. If it\u2019s true that simply viewing unlicensed streams will put UK internet users in prison for months, millions of families face the prospect of seeing loved ones behind bars.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the bigger story that needed to be investigated, and it would\u2019ve been ridiculously easy too. Simply scrolling to the bottom of the FACT press release reveals that both jailed men were operators of illegal streaming services and both pleaded guilty to multiple copyright and fraud offenses.<\/p>\n The prosecution\u00a0in Millington\u2019s trial alone<\/em>\u00a0estimated damages running to\u00a0well over \u00a310 million<\/strong>. Instead, the \u2018news\u2019 that two men were arrested and sent to jail for 16 months for\u00a0simply watching streams<\/em>\u00a0went all around the world, almost completely unchallenged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the snippets above show, news outlets in Brazil, Russia, Poland, China, Greece, Italy, Thailand, Spain, Indonesia and beyond, not only repeated the statement without any context, but helped to make it an established and uncontested \u2018fact\u2019 around the world.<\/p>\n Now here\u2019s what actually happened, to set the record straight.<\/p>\n The details in Millington\u2019s case reveal that the opportunity for a \u201cwatching streams\u201d conviction came gift-wrapped and tied up in gold ribbon.<\/p>\n The most serious charges against him related to his Kodi-based \u2018stephen-builds\u2019 software packages, which included the \u2018Supremacy\u2019 and \u2018Supremacy Sports\u2019 addons that provided his users with free access to illegal streams.<\/p>\n For context, Supremacy was one of the most-used pirate addons on the entire planet and, according to the lawyer who prosecuted Millington, was responsible for causing more than \u00a310 million in damages to rightsholders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Millington pleaded guilty to charges under\u00a0Section 7<\/a>\u00a0of the Fraud Act (making or supplying articles for use in fraud) and under the Copyright Act for distributing movies and other content via a Plex server.<\/p>\n He also pleaded guilty to\u00a0watching illegal streams<\/strong>\u00a0under\u00a0Section 11 of the Fraud Act<\/strong>\u00a0(obtaining a service dishonestly) but the background shows this was no ordinary case.<\/p>\n For several months after his home was raided, Millington\u2019s defense was that the software and equipment he had accumulated existed for his own personal use. He was a keen gamer but also admitted that he used the equipment for viewing pirate streams via software he developed.<\/p>\n Millington later changed his plea to guilty but there was a pivotal moment: To advertise his Kodi-related products online, Millington recorded a video of himself as he used his own pirate software to access illegal streams.<\/p>\n That video was found on his phone during the investigation. The prosecution then took the opportunity to add a charge of viewing illegal streams to a case where the defendant ultimately had no choice but to plead guilty, due to a mountain of evidence. It\u2019s still a conviction for watching unlicensed streams but in this case, context is everything.<\/p>\n The source of this information is vitally important too.<\/p>\n Ari Alibhai is the lawyer of choice when it comes to the private prosecution of pirates in the UK and his\u00a0track record speaks for itself<\/a>. Among many others, he\u2019s conducted multiple successful pirate IPTV prosecutions on behalf of FACT, Premier League, BT Sport and SKY.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that Mr Alibhai did not take part in the public announcements earlier this month, no reference was made to his work, and he has never claimed that Millington and Faulkner were sent to prison for simply viewing unlicensed streams. And he should know \u2013 he prosecuted both of them.<\/p>\n Late November 2021, Mr Alibhai conducted a webinar. The video of that presentation was posted more than a year ago on his\u00a0company\u2019s public website<\/a>, together with other information on Millington\u2019s case.<\/p>\n Given the importance of the victory, the promotional value of the video is obvious and, as such, it\u2019s still available today.<\/p>\n For those who don\u2019t have time to watch the entire video, discussion on the possibility of prosecuting people who simply watch unlicensed streams appears around 40 minutes into the 48-minute recording. It begins with a question from a man assisting Mr Alibhai from behind the camera.<\/p>\n \u201cYou mentioned about the difficulty of prosecuting end-users,\u201d he said. \u201cSomeone asked if there any reasonable risks of prosecution or penalty to the end-users, the ones watching the content?\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Alibhai\u2019s response, as reported below, represents just a tiny fraction of a very informative presentation. In light of the reporting on this month\u2019s events, and especially given the authoritative nature of the source, his opinion holds considerable value. In order to provide the most clarity, the response is cited verbatim.<\/p>\n Ari Alibhai webinar on Millington\/Supremacy prosecution<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Ari Alibhai:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m assuming that question means, is there a risk to the user? So, is there a realistic risk to someone who\u2019s watching TV that you will be prosecuted. Now, again, there\u2019s an academic answer and then there\u2019s a real answer.<\/p>\n In theory you can be prosecuted for watching unlawful television. You can be prosecuted under the Copyright Act under section 297 (I think, I haven\u2019t used it for a long time), but you can also be prosecuted under section 11 of the Fraud Act (obtaining services dishonestly). In fact, in the explanatory notes [of section 11] mention is made of illegal television viewing boxes being part-and-parcel of section 11.<\/p>\n Section 11 carries a maximum penalty of five years in imprisonment so, you know, in theory you face imprisonment if you watch TV illegally.<\/p>\n In practice, the idea of someone being prosecuted who isn\u2019t also concerned in the trade, so they aren\u2019t also concerned in supplying illicit television services, is minimal.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This opinion from arguably the UK\u2019s leading expert stands on its own two feet. Why overt public messaging sits in such stark contrast is puzzling to say the least.<\/p>\n That being said, Mr Alibhai wasn\u2019t quite done.<\/p>\n In follow-up comments, Mr Alibhai questioned whether the idea of NOT prosecuting viewers would be the right approach but then laid out the risks associated with that type of strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cI often feel that if you do you want to send a message out then maybe you\u2019d have to take on pure prosecutions against end users. But clearly there is a reputation issue here, there\u2019s a David and Goliath issue that\u2019s going to come up for the broadcaster that takes that on. And there\u2019s potential adverse press to consider,\u201d he said during the webinar.<\/p>\n \u201cSo in the round, I would say that it\u2019s unrealistic to expect that, if anyone is watching it, then you\u2019ll get prosecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, on the matter of reputational issues, the Twitter thread linked\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0contains an article from UK tabloid The Mirror. It states quite clearly that 1,000 homes will be visited as part of a \u201cmajor ongoing criminal investigation\u201d and that two people \u201cwere sentenced to a total of 16 months for watching illegal streams in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time of writing it has been viewed 6.3m+ times but the overwhelming majority of the comments on the tweet are negative. They either put the blame at the feet of the Premier League and\/or the broadcasters, or criticize the police for taking this on when so many other \u2018real crimes\u2019 go unsolved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The above may suggest that even when presented with the prospect of going to prison, the public response isn\u2019t to hand over their cash. Instead they list their demands \u2013 better access to matches (including at 3pm on Saturdays) and \u2013 overwhelmingly \u2013 don\u2019t expect normal working people to spend \u00a3100+ every month to see a limited number of matches.<\/p>\n Universal access to football at a fair price? It might just work. A commercial solution to what is essentially a commercial problem seems reasonable. The problem for the Premier League is the prospect of devaluing a premium product in the mere hope of gaining enough subscribers to maintain its financial position.<\/p>\n Given that pirate services won\u2019t simply go away, the difficult bottom line seems almost inevitable. The risk of being prosecuted for simply watching pirate streams may be low today, but that will almost certainly change.<\/p>\n If those who currently stream illegally can afford it, perhaps they might consider supporting the sport they love. For those who don\u2019t have the resources to buy what is essentially a luxury product, millions will sympathize. If the decision is to continue with illegal streams regardless, rightsholders most definitely will not.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0Press Hysteria<\/h2>\n
![\"para2-fact\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/para2-fact.png\")
<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\n![\"1000homes\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/1000homes.png\")
<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\nPrison \u201cFor Watching Unauthorized Streams\u201d<\/h2>\n
![\"prisonwatchiptv\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/prisonwatchiptv.png\")
<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\n![\"photo-grid\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/photo-grid.png\")
<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\nNo Ordinary Pirate Stream Watcher<\/h2>\n
![\"supremacy](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/image-70.png\")
<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\nUK\u2019s Leading Prosecutor of Streaming Pirates<\/h2>\n
Webinar Published on the Millington Case<\/h2>\n
Risk and Benefits of Viewer Prosecutions<\/h2>\n
Scary Stories, Reputation, Animosity<\/h2>\n
![\"tweets-epl\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/tweets-epl.png\")
<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\n![\"TorrentFreak\"](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/torrentfreak.png\")
<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"