Pirates Ye Be Warned: European Commission Publishes Recommendation Against Unauthorised ‘Streaming Theft’
The European Commission is trying to take on the piracy of sports and other live events like concerts and theatre performances – which they say has reached a “commercial scale”.
EU Member states, policing entities, holders of rights and service providers have been encouraged to “take effective, balanced, and appropriate measures to fight unauthorised retransmissions of streamings”.
The EC argues that, “sports and live events contribute to fostering a diverse European cultural scene, to bringing citizens together and to providing a sense of community” – and that the “organisation of such events, as well as their live transmission, require substantial investments – while at the same time contributing to economic growth and job creation”.
This recommendation comes after, in February, the EC consulted representatives of broadcasters, live performance organisations, online intermediaries, and national authorities about the challenges commercial interests were facing in the live streaming sector.
In seeking to tackle unauthorised streaming, the EC is looking to prevent a “significant loss in revenue for performers, live and sports event organisers and broadcasters, thus undermining the viability of the services they offer”.
The recommendation published by the EC is focused around three areas: prompt treatment of notices related to live events, dynamic injunctions, commercial offers, and awareness.
The latter of these areas has a strong focus on member states raising consumers’ awareness of legal offers to enjoy streamed sports and cultural content and on the issue of piracy among enforcement authorities.
The effects of this recommendation will be assessed by 17th November 2025 – at which point necessary changes will be implemented to strengthen the rights of commercial interests in blocking illegal streams.
What do you think of the EC’s fight against pirated streaming content?
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