Over the years there have been frequent claims by entertainment companies that by using pirate services, users are helping to finance other crimes. Just recently an article appeared in Forbes warning that, among other things, pirate IPTV providers are also involved in people trafficking, arms trading and drug shipments. Read on….

There is no doubt that over the past 20 years, online piracy has transformed in many ways. While still not completely dead, the original “sharing is caring” ethos is now overshadowed by what is a largely commercial web of for-profit piracy services.

In most jurisdictions, the operators of commercial piracy services commit crimes ranging from criminal copyright infringement to money laundering and fraud. So, by definition, pirate sites are run by criminals. Furthermore, if they do business systematically in even a small team, they can be officially labeled an Organized Crime Group (OCG).

This status elevation of copyright infringers is useful for rightsholders. Instead of expensive and unpredictable civil legal action, law enforcement can be encouraged to engage in criminal prosecutions with the prospect of prison sentences for offenders. None of this is particularly new but in more recent years, the opportunity to ‘upgrade’ pirates in the eyes of the public and policymakers has proven too good to miss.

The rest of this article can be read on TorrentFreak.com

Source link