Kodi crackdown continues - but service has 'zero sympathy' for users' illegal streams

[HARDY]

Those offering illegal streams of films and sport to customers have been taken down - but XBMC has 'no sympathy'

The crackdown against Kodi boxes is continuing - as the foundation responsible for overseeing the service says it has “zero sympathy” for those who use pirated content.

Police in London arrested a 53-year-old man this week, taking possession of a stash of 40 Android-powered set-top boxes containing the Kodi media streaming software along with other apps.

According to Westminster Council, the arrest was made after police raided a property in West London and secured the gadgets, which were being sold online for as much as £100 each.

They were loaded with the free Kodi software and had been configured with third-party add-ons that allowed owners to stream copyrighted material such as films and live football for free.

But over the summer, many of the illegal add-ons have been shut down.

Although the Kodi media player is totally legal, there is a vast array of third-party apps available that offer access to these illegal streams.

As a result, Kodi has gained a reputation as a “piracy facilitator”, meaning many legitimate content publishers like Netflix and Amazon refuse to work with it.

In recent months, there has been a major crackdown on these third-party apps by copyright owners, with some of the most popular add-ons - such as Phoenix and TVAddons - shutting down.

Now many Kodi users are flooding Kodi’s online forums and social media, complaining that their “Kodi boxes” are no longer working.

But the XBMC Foundation, which oversees the Kodi software, appears to be utterly fed up with the situation, stating that it is not interested in hearing users’ complaints, and labelling those who sell these fully-loaded Kodi boxes as “criminals”.

“If you post in our forums or social channels about a pirate add-on or streaming service not working please expect ZERO sympathy or support,” it said in a blog post.

A report by the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) estimates that 15% of UK internet users - approximately 7 million people - still stream or download material that infringes copyright.

In particular, streaming boxes that can be easily adapted to illegally stream premium TV content such as blockbuster movies are now used by 13% of online infringers.

This threatens to undermine recent progress in tackling online piracy by legitimate streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify .

“There has never been more choice or flexibility for consumers of TV and music, however illicit streaming devices and stream-ripping are threatening this progress,” said Ros Lynch, Copyright and IP Enforcement Director at the IPO.