Two people charged over alleged illegal IPTV operation

Prosecutors have charged two people with copyright offences over an alleged illegal service that sold access to films and television channels. Yle reported that the alleged offences took place online between 2021 and 2025.

The prosecutor says the suspects obtained viewing and listening credentials from an illegal service and sold them to customers without the rights holders’ permission. They are also accused of selling access to content packages they had acquired for their own use.

In a separate alleged offence, the pair are accused of setting up and running an illegal IPTV service that offered customers numerous films and television channels for payment, also without permission from the rights holders. Authorities suspect the offences were committed for financial gain.

The case is before the Pirkanmaa District Court, but no hearing dates have been set. A copyright offence can carry a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.

IPTV services allow users to stream television channels, films and series. Providing content without an agreement with the rights holders and without paying them is illegal. Copyright lawyer Herkko Hietanen said that watching such services is not currently a criminal offence, but legislation could change. He said lawmakers had identified the issue and were planning a change.

Illegal IPTV services are used in nearly 126,000 Finnish households, according to a September report by Helsingin Sanomat based on research by media analysis company Mediavision. The number had fallen substantially from an earlier level.

In late 2024, European authorities carried out raids against one of the largest illegal IPTV networks operating in and outside the European Union. Europol said investigators had identified more than 100 people suspected of distributing films, series and television programmes to 22 million users.

In Sweden, three people accused of running the IPTV King service went on trial early last year. The Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre said it was Sweden’s largest illegal IPTV service and that its operators allegedly earned more than four million euros over two years.

A copyright survey conducted by Taloustutkimus found that use of illegal streaming services had risen significantly among young adults in Finland over the previous year. The Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre said in October that more than a third of Generation Z, defined in the survey as people born between 1997 and 2012, used illegal streaming services.