The impact of piracy has been debated for some time. Now the United State Chamber of Commerce, an independent group, claims that video piracy from services like IPTV companies causes $115.3 billion in damages to the GDP and 560,000 lot jobs every year. This comes from a report over at TorrentFreak.
This comes as the United States government has announced plans to hold a round table event this fall to look at ways to stop video piracy.
So what are IPTV services? In short, an IPTV service is an illegal live TV streaming service promising to give you all the big networks like ESPN but for a fraction of the cost of legal services.
The exact damage caused by IPTV services is unknown but the damage is real.
For years those who used IPTV services and sold them did so without any real fear of legal action. The few IPTV services that faced any trouble in the US mostly faced civil lawsuits. Overseas the news was different as a growing number of IPTV sellers faced jail time. That all changed back in 2020 as the US passed a law to make running piracy services a criminal activity.
Increasingly what was once considered a civil case when IPTV services were shut down is now considered a criminal case. In the United States, laws were recently changed to make running an IPTV service a more serious crime. Not that long ago the owner of the Gears Reloaded IPTV was sentenced to 5 and a half years in jail and $30 million in fines.
As cord cutting has put pressure on cable TV companies and content owners, they have invested heavily in efforts to stop even small piracy services. What was once a side project for many companies is now a major focus.
Look for 2023 to be a year full of crackdowns on all kinds of illegal streaming services, including IPTV services.