DStv piracy fight in South Africa

DStv parent MultiChoice has ramped up its crackdown on pirate streaming services in 2024, with numerous successful raids and arrests in just the past few months.

The six reported arrests of pirate streaming service operators and device providers in the last six months are more than double all the previous reported successes in its anti-piracy fight between 2019 and 2023.

MultiChoice and Partners Against Piracy have repeatedly emphasised that the illegal distribution of licenced content through pirate streaming services threatened the sustainability of rights holders and content creators.

“This form of piracy not only results in direct revenue losses for businesses but also undermines the integrity of our content distribution models,” the company said.

MultiChoice copyright software company Irdeto has collaborated with law enforcement to aid in the anti-piracy effort.

According to Irdeto anti-piracy director for broadcast and cybersecurity, Frikkie Jonker, technological advancements had enabled his team to track down and prosecute pirated content rapidly, accurately, and at scale.

“Piracy is often a multi-level operation, with global and regional headquarters, as well as regional resellers,” Jonker said.

“It is now also possible for content owners and police to identify criminals at every level of these operations, as well as those who consume pirated content.”

Below are the six reported raids and arrests of illegal streaming service operators allegedly distributing copyrighted DStv content in 2024:

• 31 May 2024 — Raid on Waka TV operation in the Western Cape, resulting in the arrest of “key suspect” distributing the service
• 4 June 2024 — Suspect arrested in Kempton Park for allegedly managing several pirate customers and illegal streaming resellers
• 14 August 2024 — Raid on suspected piracy operation in Cape Town, Western Cape, resulting in the arrests of male and female believed to be selling streaming boxes providing access to pirated content
• 6 September 2024 — Raid on Waka TV operation in Germiston, Gauteng, resulting in the arrest of an individual allegedly involved in fraud, money laundering, theft, and Cybercrimes Act violations.
• 19 September 2024 — Raid on piracy streaming operation in Worcester, Western Cape, resulting in arrest of an individual allegedly distributing login credentials for unauthorised access to premium content for which MultiChoice holds the right
• 1 October 2024 — Botswana national allegedly in South Africa illegally and involved in Waka TV operation arrested

The courts have yet to rule on these cases.

However, there is a legal precedent that the perpetrators could face heavy fines or jail time.

In November 2022, a Capetonian man was sentenced to seven years in jail for selling access to pirated DStv content on modified Android TV boxes.

His sentence was wholly suspended on the condition that he not commit a similar crime within five years. However, he had to pay a fine of R60,000 into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account.

Later that same month, another DStv pirate was slapped with a five-year sentence for also selling modified TV boxes and illegal IPTV subscriptions providing access to copyrighted content.

While his sentence was also wholly suspended on the condition that he not commit a similar crime, he was ordered to pay R120,000 into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account.

Money paid into this account is used for prosecution and police funding, but consideration is also given to the victims in a particular crime — in this case MultiChoice .

Operators first, users next

MyBroadband asked MultiChoice for more specific details on the total number of piracy-related arrests it had assisted in during the past year.

The company said this information could not be disclosed due to the sensitive nature of the associated investigations.

The broadcaster also said it was difficult to quantify the exact financial loss attributed to illegal streaming but said it invested “substantial” resources in combating piracy through technological measures, legal actions, and collaboration with industry partners.

Although MultiChoice has primarily focused on the operators behind the services in its raids, it has also emphasised that it would target illegal streaming users.

The Copyright Act prescribes the punishment for first-time offenders using illegal streaming services as a fine of R5,000 or three years in jail, while repeated offenders could face up to five years in jail and a R10,000 fine.

Jonker said that “financial difficulty” was not a valid reason for piracy because the crime put many people’s livelihoods in danger.

While law enforcement authorities are unwilling to share the details of pirate customers with MultiChoice, Jonker previously told radio station 702 that the company had tools to analyse illegal streams and identify them itself.

Privacy-protecting software and data protection laws might make this approach difficult from a legal perspective.

However, Jonker said when the initiated criminal proceedings against the operators were finalised, MultiChoice would know who the users of these illegal services are and consider “going after them” as well.

“We can then initiate civil litigation action and even criminal action against those people,” said Jonker. “We want to go after everybody,” he added.