TorrentFreak France Fines First Batch of Pirate IPTV Subscribers Following Reseller Bust

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France has been at the forefront of the fight against online piracy for years.

It pioneered the three-strikes “graduated response” system back in 2009, where the Hadopi agency tracked, warned, and fined online pirates, mostly those using BitTorrent.

As piracy shifted to streaming, however, enforcement became more complicated. Unlike BitTorrent, IPTV services don’t broadcast users’ IP addresses publicly, which has made individual subscribers difficult to identify and prosecute.

However, IPTV operators and resellers keep records. When investigators reach those records, subscribers can find themselves exposed.

19 IPTV Subscribers Fined​

Last week, the French football league LFP announced that the Arras Public Prosecutor’s Office reached financial settlements with 19 subscribers of a pirate IPTV service. These users signed a criminal settlement that requires them to pay a fine ranging from €300 to €400.

The criminal investigation was started following a complaint from LFP. The prosecutors eventually identified 21 defendants and have now settled with 19 of them. The remaining two defendants are resellers, who are summoned to appear before the Arras criminal court in April, Zataz reports.

This is the first case in France where IPTV users are sanctioned. While the plea agreements are relatively modest, LFP stresses that the law provides for penalties of up to €7,500.

The authorities did not disclose how the subscribers were identified, but IPTV resellers typically hold customer records including email addresses and payment details. If the authorities collected this as evidence, they could effectively expose the subscribers.

Mafia-like Ecosystem​

The Arras case is not the first time European IPTV subscribers have faced consequences. In Italy, the Guardia di Finanza identified thousands of subscribers following the dismantling of a pirate network, and rights holders subsequently sent civil damages demands on top of the criminal fines.

Last May, the authorities announced that 2,282 pirate IPTV subscribers had been fined across 80 Italian provinces. Following this action, rightsholders collected additional damages settlements of up to €1,000 from a number of the same people.

France has followed a different path, but the Arras prosecutions suggest the gap may be narrowing. In its official communiqué, the LFP made clear the intent behind the action, while warning that more actions are underway.

“The LFP and LFP Media welcome this strong message to users of piracy services, who mistakenly believe they can act with impunity when in fact they are knowingly contributing to a mafia-like ecosystem that seriously harms the entire sports sector,” the organization writes.

“Many criminal actions targeting resellers of IPTV subscriptions are underway, and their customers may, as such, be questioned and prosecuted,” the league added (TF translated).

Millions of LFP Pirates Remain​

While LFP hopes that the prosecutions and the associated fines against 19 IPTV subscribers will send a deterrent message, there is still a long way to go.

At a sports piracy conference held at Roland-Garros on March 23, LFP Media’s Douglas Lowenstein presented survey data showing that around two million people in France watched Ligue 1 via pirate services this season, making it the most pirated competition in the country.

Prosecuting millions of people isn’t very practical, which is why rightsholders are also continuing to push for expanded site-blocking powers.

Arcom, France’s broadcasting regulator, has blocked more than 12,600 domain names since 2022, but rightsholders argue that real-time automated blocking is needed to keep pace with live match piracy. This is particularly important with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind.

The French football league is pushing for Article 10 of a pending sports law, which would allow automated blocking without manual approval. Sports Minister Marina Ferrari has indicated the legislation could move before June, ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

If LFP’s warnings are correct, we may also see more prosecutions of IPTV pirates in the near future. In any case, the two resellers in the Arras case will have made their appearance in court by then, which is scheduled for April 7.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

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