Although the landscape still remains murky regarding the legality of using Kodi add-ons that allow the streaming of illegal content and the penalties this may entail, the statements of the head of Britain's largest anti-piracy group are set to further stir up the already murky waters.
According to Kieron Sharp, CEO of the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), it is very likely that users of illegal Kodi addons will begin to be prosecuted by the authorities in the "very near future", as data collection on them has already begun, as part of investigations conducted by the authorities.
“Authorities may soon start targeting ordinary Kodi users and not just vendors and developers,” Sharp says.
At this point, it should be noted that while Kodi itself is legal, third-party add-ons allow users to illegally access copyrighted content. In fact, according to a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, streaming content from illegal sources is now illegal in the EU.
And while it is quite difficult to determine who is using the software for legal purposes and who for illegal purposes, sellers of so-called “fully loaded Kodi boxes” seem to be a primary target, being at the center of the authorities' investigations, while end users are not exempt from the investigations, even though they seemingly constitute the last wheel of the cart.
In an interview with the Independent, the CEO of the Federation Against Copyright Theft stated:
“What we are looking at in collaboration with many of our clients and members is the different levels of crime that are being committed.”
“There’s the manufacturing and import of the devices, as well as the distribution and sale of them. We also look at the users who provide the apps and add-ons, the developers.”
"And then, at some point, we get to the end user. The reason end users are involved in this is because they are committing criminal offenses.".
“When we work with the police against a company that sells IPTV boxes or illegal streaming devices on a large scale, there are records of the users who have purchased the devices. It is part of the work we do with the police to look at the whole business and start investigating those who buy these devices.”
