Amazon Fire Stick users could face prison if caught watching illegal services

People accessing TV and streaming sites illegally via an Amazon Fire Stick have been warned that they could face serious repercussions and even end up in prison.

A new crackdown on the 'jailbroken' Amazon Fire Sticks being used to access a wide range of sporting streams and other content is underway following previous efforts last year.

The number of people using such devices is on the rise, with a ‘significant’ increase in cases over the past 12 months, and now the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT UK) has spoken about the implications of being caught watching streaming services without paying.

What punishment would people face if caught? While owning a stick itself is not illegal, using one to watch streaming services without paying is illegal

If caught and convicted, people could face time in prison – up to 12 months in fact, for a summary conviction. If the charge is deemed to be more serious, people could fact up to five years in prison for an indictable offence.

Kieron Sharp is CEO at FACT. Sharp said: “Illegal IPTV service providers are breaking the law and putting consumers at real risk of malware, data compromise, and identity theft.

"Consumers who pay for pirate services should also know that they are often funding serious organised crime groups.

“FACT and Sky remain committed to disrupting these criminal operations and protecting consumers from the many dangers of illegal streaming."

Sky’s director of Anti-Piracy UK and ROI, Matt Hibbert, added: "We understand the power of working with our partners to tackle the issue of illegal streaming, and we’re grateful to FACT and law enforcement for their support.

"At Sky we are passionate about protecting our content while ensuring consumers can enjoy the content they love, free from risks that illegal streams can pose. We’ll continue to support efforts to shut down the organised networks involved in the large-scale theft of our content and to protect consumers from the risks involved in accessing content in this way."

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