A blow to pirate football: operators will have to report your IP and personal data to LaLiga

Watching pirate football in Spain will become more dangerous. Reportedly BrandThe Commercial Court No. 8 of Barcelona issued a ruling obliging operators such as Telefónica, Orange and Vodafone to inform La Liga IP addresses and personal data those who use their services to illegally access matches.

Thanks to this resolution, La Liga will be able to send complaints against users who watch pirate football from their homes. In addition to the three companies mentioned above, the aforementioned media outlets indicate that the decision will also affect Digi and MásMovil.

The decision represents a radical change to La Liga’s anti-piracy strategy, as it previously did not have elements to penalize individuals who watched pirate football using their home internet connection.

Until now, the legal tools available have only allowed us to go after companies that offer illegal access to matches. And also against restaurants, bars or other public establishments that issued them in an illegal manner.

The media loves Brand And ACE They note that this solution will allow “penalty” users who watch pirate football. However, it is not known for sure whether this will happen and what complaints La Liga may send to the public affected by this measure. That is, if they proceed with any kind of warning or cease-and-desist letter in principle, or if they directly move to a more hostile position such as a lawsuit or fine.

If you watch pirate football, LaLiga will receive your IP and personal data.

By order of the Commercial Court No. 8 of Barcelona, ​​LaLiga will receive from Internet operators the IP addresses of users connecting to servers distributing pirated football. But not only that. Companies must also provide the first and last name of the connection owner, their mailing address for billing and installation, their National Identity Document (DNI) or their NIE (foreign identification number).

This is already causing quite a bit of commentary regarding people’s privacy and how this data will be shared and stored. According to the court, the companies themselves will have to provide this information directly to LaLiga through a “secure electronic channel.” It will be necessary to see if more details are revealed on this matter.

Pirate football is one of La Liga’s main problems and its president Javier Tebas has not been shy about demanding measures to put an end to it. In 2023, he assured that piracy at matches of the First Division of Spanish football increased by 4% compared to the previous season. In addition, he said that iOS and Android apps with millions of downloads were found in Europe that facilitated access to illegal content.

The court’s decision does not seem to have ignored the demand to combat pirate football in Spain. Tebas himself stated that they had already identified about 46,000 IP addresses that offered pirated content, as well as the personal data of those associated with them. However, complained about the lack of legislation to take action. How will this story continue? Everything suggests that the decision announced today will give a lot of reasons for conversation.