Overview
- Police raided four properties in West Yorkshire in the final week of October, arresting four men on suspicion of copyright and money-laundering offences and seizing digital devices, with all released pending further investigation.
- FACT has published a list of UK regions it is focusing on, including London, Kent, Sussex, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Northumbria, North Yorkshire, South Wales, and the North East and North West.
- A previous two‑week operation targeted around 30 IPTV suppliers, with home visits and cease‑and‑desist letters warning offenders to stop or face prosecution.
- Using or distributing modified streaming devices to access paywalled content is illegal under UK law, and courts have imposed prison terms, including a three‑year sentence in 2024 for a Liverpool seller.
- Amazon’s latest Fire TV Stick 4K Select reportedly runs an in‑house ‘Vega’ OS that a cybersecurity expert says restricts app permissions and currently blocks VPNs, while experts also warn illicit services can expose users to malware and scams.