Following recent crackdowns on illegal streaming services, thousands of customers face potential legal consequences. In Cologne, a spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office informed “Bild” (Friday edition) that they currently anticipate initiating around 4,000 legal proceedings against customers related to money laundering under Section 261 of the German Criminal Code, a result of a raid on a provider of a prohibited streaming platform last year.
In the Siegen-Wittgenstein region of North Rhine-Westphalia, users of another illegal service have already received notification from the district police. The Siegen public prosecutor’s office is investigating a resident of Siegen who allegedly made illegal IPTV access available. A spokesperson for the Siegen public prosecutor’s office told the newspaper that during these investigations, the Siegen-Wittgenstein district police were tasked with starting independent proceedings against the respective users of that access.
Separately, the public prosecutor’s office in Duisburg is investigating seven suspects for the suspicion of commercially exploiting copyrighted works without authorization (Sections 106 and 108a of the Copyright Act). Furthermore, the local authority announced that separate cases have been initiated against approximately 500 users on suspicion of unauthorized interference with related protective rights (Section 108 of the Copyright Act).
