PRESS RELEASE: VODAFONEZIGGO, AAPA AND DUTCH POLICE COLLABORATE TO BRING CARD SHARING PIRATE TO JUSTICE

The conviction is the latest in a series of positive results of collaborative investigations led by Dutch Police, VodafoneZiggo and members of AAPA.

The 29-year-old man from Oude Wetering in the Netherlands was convicted of criminal offences relating to card-sharing . The sentencing follows the conviction of a 40-year-old man in Groningen in July 2018, also on offences relating to card sharing and the illegal sharing of Ziggo services.

“Piracy is a crime which can impact the revenues of content owners and rights holders and have serious consequences for the industry. Premium content is in high demand across the globe and the AAPA will continue to work with leading operators like VodafoneZiggo to help protect their investments and bring to justice criminals who are intent on stealing and sharing this valuable content,” said Mark Mulready, Vice President – Cybersecurity Services, Irdeto and Vice President, AAPA . “This conviction is a testament to the success of the collaboration between the industry and law enforcement groups and will hopefully help the pirates to rethink their disregard for the industry.”

Card sharing piracy continues to pose a major threat to pay TV operators and broadcasters. This form of piracy occurs when a pirate steals and retransmits a regularly changing control word that is passed between a smart card and a set-top-box (STB), allowing subscribers to watch TV content they have not legitimately paid for.