Last Friday, the government warns the public about the illegal use of Kodi Boxes for streaming paid channels for free. There have been many deliberations if it’s illegal to watch a stream of Sky Sports or even Hollywood films, but the officials were eager to suppress the confusion and have announced that streaming is undoubtedly illegal and that, accessing copyrighted materials is against the law.
Kodi, previously known as XBMC, is a software application that can pull entertainment channels like iPlayer and Netflix. The Kodi Box can be installed on TV boxes and connects to your telly through an HDMI cable. Though the box and the software are not considered illegal, it has a wide range of library that allows the user to play copyrighted contents such as videos, music, games, pictures, etc. The user can watch streamed shows and watch them on different platforms like a computer, a set-top box, computer, smartphone, or even on a tablet. Some users are using 3rd party plug-ins to modify the boxes and access paid channels. Fully-loaded is the term that is used to describe how the software has been modified to give access to paid channels.
According to Ros Lynch of the Intellectual Property Office, the content creators should be paid for their hard work and it is not a gray area. He adds that the government is taking IP infringement seriously and they are now working with the law enforcements and industry partners to deal with this emerging threat. However, Lynch did not mention anything about their plan.
It appears that the nation has been enthralled with Kodi Boxes, exchanged them for Netflix to obtain Pay-Per-View streamed live sports and brand new films. While the officials in different countries are attempting to crush down the anomaly, many major stream providers have already shut down.
Recently, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) found out that various Internet Protocol TV Devices (IPTV) gadgets have failed the British safety regulations, which can prevent them from entering the UK. There will also be a crackdown for those who will found selling these kinds of devices. According to the European court, selling a fully-loaded device to let people watch pirated films or live sports is illegal. Those who are found selling a box that will be used to infringe copyright could be put in jail.
Kodi’s add-on services like TV Addons and Navi-X will soon stop working. TV Addons is known for supplying pirated films, sports, and TV shows, while the Navi-X found it too risky to continue their service. Amazon has also banned fully-loaded Kodi box being sold on their website and promised to freeze the accounts of those who will break the rules.
According to experts, those who are using Kodi software for watching films, live sports, and TV shows online, are also prone to crippling cyber attack. Intruders may take complete control of their televisions that are hooked up to Kodi boxes and steal personal information of the owner through the subtitle files. Once the user downloaded these files in their media player, the intruders can get full access through the susceptibilities in the media players like Kodi, VLC, strem.io, etc.
