Greece is ramping up the battle against illegal IPTV services with a new law that will penalize individuals who subscribe to such pirated services.

The Greek government has passed an amendment that will levy financial penalties on illegal IPTV service users. Under the new regulations:

– Domestic users could be fined up to €700.
– Unauthorized public streaming can attract up to €1,500 in fines.
– Commercial use of pirated IPTV can attract up to €5,000 in penalties.

Additionally, repeat offenders will be fined twice. These fines are meant to complement the existing countermeasures against blocking pirate streams and make piracy a less attractive option for consumers.

Although these penalties would discourage some consumers, they might be difficult to enforce. Authorities would require access to subscriber information, something that could be achieved through collaboration with illegal IPTV providers or payment processors—a morally dubious and uncertain endeavor.

Without a clear policy for gathering information about the user, the effectiveness of these fines is questionable. Past studies suggest threats by themselves are not strong enough to encourage users to go to legal streaming services. Other models that have been successful include offering low-priced legal options.

Another issue also arises: how do users know if a live TV service is legal or not? It is unjust to punish users who unknowingly use illegal services.

Greece’s new policy is a stronger crackdown on IPTV piracy and can be used as an example to other countries. As the U.S. considers implementing similar blocking rules, what Greece does will be closely watched.

Meanwhile, Spain is considering requiring tech giant Google to compensate La Liga, Telefónica, and Mediapro for the illegal streaming of La Liga matches through an app called New Play. This action could establish a precedent for holding tech companies accountable for enabling piracy.