Pirateria online banned: the Senate unanimously approved the new law which fights the illegal dissemination of content protected by copyright. The “anti-pezzotto law” provides for severe penalties, including up to three years’ imprisonment and fines of up to fifteen thousand euros. Even if we will have to see it in action to understand if it will have the desired effects from politics.
Online piracy, how the law just approved works
Lega Calcio and the companies involved in the tender for the assignment of rights for the next five seasons of the Serie A championship were eagerly awaiting this regulation. Which goes to punish those who seek illegal ways to watch the games. As Fabio Salamida reports on Wired, it is estimated that more than five million Italians use pirated addresses to watch the games of their favorite teams. All without having to pay the streaming platforms that broadcast European leagues and competitions.
The main change concerns timing: the new law will give the Communications Authority (Agcom) the power to order service providers to disable access to the site transmitting pirated signals within thirty minutes, also through precautionary and urgent measures.
In this way the main problem encountered so far in the measures applied against online piracy is overcome, that is the slowness with which the pages from which the signal originated were blocked. Often this happened after several hours or even days. So when everyone had already seen the game.
At the same time, the competent authority will be able to immediately inform the appropriate judiciary by sending a crime report. At that time, the judges will be able to easily trace the page owner and gain access to your personal information through payment tracking.
In addition, there will be an increase in fines for end users, which they will be able to pay up to five thousand euros if identified, compared to the one thousand euros currently envisaged.