The Agcom Commissioner, Massimiliano Capitanio, ha stated on LinkedIn that the fight against piracy cannot avoid focusing on criminal associations and, surprisingly (?), also on legal ones that profit from the violation of intellectual property and other people’s rights.
Capitanio underlined that an inevitable step, albeit unpopular, will be to inflict fines on users of the “pezzotto” and applications easily downloadable from the Android and Apple stores, as well as from portals such as Amazon and sites available through search engines.a (seen as uncooperative in the online comment, ed.).
The Commissioner warned that, shortly, significant sanctions will be introduced, ranging between 150 and 5000 euros, for those who have viewed pirated content via streaming. This step, although unwanted, according to what we read “It has become necessary as those engaging in illegal activities are deluding users that they will not incur any consequences.”
Capitanio stressed that this move is essential to educate users, warning those who still believe that impunity is guaranteed.
In parallel, highlight how Spain has undertaken a similar path, underlining a common European front against piracy. This cohesion between European countries, according to Capitanio, is a positive step to more effectively address the rampant phenomenon of digital piracy.
What risks are there? Probably much more modest, the IP-user association requires some steps that are anything but trivial (such as a legal request to the ISP, etc.) but the feeling is that a kind of moral suasion with some users already identified over the course of these weeks.
In short, to put it simply, awareness of the imminence of financial sanctions should dissuade those who use pirated content, leading to greater legality in digital consumption practices. At least according to what we could read in the Commissioner’s words.