📰 New article from TorrentFreak
France Fines First Batch of Pirate IPTV Subscribers Following Reseller Bust
France Just Fined Its First Batch of IPTV Pirates — and It’s Just the Beginning
For years, France led the charge against online piracy with its “three-strikes” system targeting BitTorrent users. But as piracy shifted to private, encrypted IPTV streams, enforcement stalled — until now.
Last week, 19 French citizens paid €300–€400 fines after settling criminal charges tied to pirating Ligue 1 matches. These were the first IPTV subscribers sanctioned in France, following a crackdown on resellers whose customer records gave prosecutors the evidence they needed. Two resellers remain in court this April.
This isn’t just symbolic: The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) is signaling a broader push. “Users wrongly believe they act with impunity,” the league warned, calling IPTV piracy a “mafia-like ecosystem” that harms sports at large.
While only 19 have been punished so far, around 2 million people reportedly watched Ligue 1 via pirate streams this season. Prosecuting them all isn’t feasible — so France is doubling down on tech solutions too.
A proposed law could let regulators like Arcom block pirate sites automatically, without manual approval — fast enough to catch live matches. With the 2026 World Cup approaching, expect more fines, more blocks, and fewer places to hide for IPTV pirates.