Streaming films, series or sports over the Internet is now completely normal. But when is this actually illegal and what penalties can there be?
In times of Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Sky and Co., more and more people are watching videos on the internet. Much of this is perfectly legal, especially as part of a subscription. But there are still many sites that offer streams illegally. At TECHBOOK you can find out exactly when you are liable to prosecution when watching such streams and what the consequences can be.
Be careful with free streams
In general, of course, everything you can watch on streaming services such as Netflix, DAZN, Prime Video, etc. is completely legal. The providers have the appropriate licenses and are allowed to offer the titles as part of a subscription, which is usually subject to a fee. The magic word here is: subject to a charge. Licenses for films, series and sports cost the providers fees, which they usually pass on to the users. The same applies, of course, to in-house productions by the streaming services. Paid streams or subscriptions from reputable providers are therefore legal in principle.
With free offers, on the other hand, great care should always be taken. It is true that providers such as Amazon Freevee are also free of charge by being financed through advertising. But there are also numerous free websites that you should take a closer look at. Platforms like “Kinox” or “Serienstream” may look professional, but they are now illegal. In general, you should always check whether the free video content you want to watch is subject to a fee from an established streaming service. This also applies explicitly to live streams of sports events.
All important information about illegal streaming can also be found here in the video:
EU has tightened penalties for illegal streaming
In fact, the use of such illegal streams has long been in a legal gray area. Especially in the early years of streaming, the courts took the view that as long as nothing was stored on the user’s end device, there was no copyright infringement. It was therefore not the use itself that was punishable, but only the possession and distribution of the content. In the meantime, however, the European Court of Justice has significantly tightened the regulations.
In principle it has been a corresponding Decision 2017 no longer allowed to use streams that contain an “obviously illegal template”. In case of doubt, the user is responsible for checking the legality of the source. So as long as there is any indication that the stream is illegal, you can theoretically be prosecuted for copyright infringement and receive a corresponding fine.
This is then based on the amount of illegally streamed content. However, one should at least expect to have to pay as much as would have been necessary for the legal use of the content. Depending on what content is involved, the fine can quickly reach the three-digit range. In general, you should keep your hands off dubious streams and in any case you should avoid actually downloading videos. In the case of so-called file sharing, i.e. when files are actually stored on the user’s device, the penalties can be significantly higher and reach into the thousands.
This is how you recognize an illegal stream
Since the new EU regulation, users are first and foremost obliged to check the source of a stream. So as long as there is any indication that a page offers illegal content, you make yourself punishable by using it.
Common features of an illegal streaming site include a lack of imprint or the provider’s lack of contact options. Unfortunately, the fact that the latest Hollywood film is available free of charge on a platform immediately after it opens in cinemas is usually also a sign of illegal streaming, as is clearly inferior video quality.