Is Your Fire Stick Secretly Putting You on Virgin Media, Sky, and TNT Sports’ Radar?
So, picture this: you’re cozy on your couch, ready to stream that big game, and suddenly—bam!—the so-called ‘dodgy Fire Sticks’ get police knockin’ on your door. Sounds like a plot twist from a streaming thriller, right? Well, it’s real life, and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) isn’t kidding around. They’ve teamed up with heavy hitters like Sky, TNT Sports, and Virgin Media, plus local cops, to hunt down those ‘fully loaded’ devices that promise free sports and paid-for content but deliver only legal headaches. Turns out, Amazon’s latest Fire TV Stick 4K Select is playing hardball too — with a shiny new in-house system that blocks users from sneaking in those naughty unapproved apps and even throws a wrench at VPNs. So, is dodging the law worth a few dodgy streams, or is it time to play nice with your TV? Let’s unpack this crackdown before you find yourself on the wrong side of the remote. LEARN MORE.
The public are being urged not to use so-called ‘dodgy Fire Sticks’ to illegally stream sports and paid-for content, as raids take place up and down the country.
FACT, or the Federation Against Copyright Theft, is working with the likes of Sky, TNT Sports, Virgin Media and more, as well as local police forces, to crack down on people using the ‘fully loaded’ devices.
The organisation has been carrying out raids in many parts of the UK to catch people using the illegal apps, while also monitoring digital sellers of the devices in a bid to track down suppliers.
It comes after Amazon made a number of moves to prevent its devices for being used for illegal purposes, following the release of its new Fire TV Stick 4K Select.
FACT are currently cracking down on ‘dodgy Fire Stick’ users (Getty Stock Images)
The new stick uses an in-house Amazon system called Vega, as opposed to the old Android operating systems being used on previous models. This new setup makes it significantly harder for users to ‘sideload apps’, which essentially means downloading unapproved apps onto the device from outside the official Amazon app store.
In a further blow it was recently revealed that the newest model of the Fire Stick will not allow the use of VPNs, which many people use to hide their location and identity while illegally streaming in a bid to avoid detection from internet service providers.
This move is, however, expected to be temporary as the function should be available with a software update soon, Metro reports.
“If you’re supplying or using illicit streaming devices or illegal IPTV subscriptions, take this as a clear warning: you are breaking the law and risk facing serious consequences,” FACT previously warned.
Amazon released a new Fire Stick you can’t ‘jailbreak’ (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We will continue working with police to track down and shut down these illegal operations.
“The police across the UK have been unstinting in their efforts to tackle this criminality and we are grateful for their assistance.”
Kieron Sharp, Chairman of FACT, told LADbible in a statement: “FACT’s enforcement activities against illegal streaming are ongoing throughout the year.
“Together with our partners and the police, we constantly review new intelligence and target those areas of the UK and Ireland where the data shows that illegal streaming activity is taking place.
“Our investigations are thorough, and we are relentless in our determination to stop illegal streaming and bring offenders to justice.
“To avoid jeopardising operations that are in progress, we do not share details publicly until enforcement action has been completed.”
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