A report published by the European Commission last month assessed whether its Recommendation of May 2023 had made a difference in the fight against pirated streams.

No significant improvement ” was the downbeat conclusion.

From the perspective of top-tier Spanish football league, LaLiga, new legislation is the only workable solution, and it needs to be implemented in Europe, sooner rather than later.

LaLiga Claims to Have Slashed Piracy in Half, Give or Take

At the same time as urgently calling for new legislation, LaLiga claims to have reduced piracy of its content in Spain by as much as 60% . This was achieved under existing legislation for the season that concluded at the end of the summer. A 40% reduction, the lower figure previously cited by LaLiga, would still be unprecedented.

Yet, in the context of LaLiga’s court-ordered authority, which permits aggressive blocking of almost any site or service facilitating access to pirate streams of its premium content, such results are not absolutely impossible, at least in measured short bursts. LaLiga regularly laments Cloudflare’s refusal to prevent piracy platforms from using its services and for every week that remains the case, Cloudflare IP addresses – utilized by pirates and regular customers alike – are blocked by Spanish ISPs.

LaLiga reports that in May 2025, 38% of piracy involving LaLiga content “was distributed through Cloudflare’s infrastructure.” So at least on paper and without considering circumvention and other factors, aggressive yet effective blocking of Cloudflare would in theory be sufficient to claim a ~40% reduction in piracy rates.

The problem, which has thus far proven impossible to solve, is how blanket denial of service to piracy platforms can be executed without subjecting innocent parties to the same fate.

Internet Private Security Guard

As Head of Web Application Protection at DDoS-Guard , a Russian Internet company providing protective online services, Dmitry Nikonov understands the importance of connectivity. Operating in broadly the same market as Cloudflare, DDoS-Guard has been paying close attention to the events playing out in Spain.

LaLiga’s legal authority allows it to block Cloudflare and in the event that DDoS-Guard’s services also become a concern, there would be no legal barrier to prevent it from being treated in much the same way. The consequences of non-compliance seem to have alarmed Nikonov.

“This is happening right now, in the fall of 2025, and the scale of this phenomenon is astonishing. It seems LaLiga is beyond control,” Nikonov writes in a column for Forbes Russia .

“LaLiga can essentially apply a ‘piracy’ mask to entire ranges of addresses, often affecting endpoints that are not directly related to illegal broadcasts.”

‘Private Regulation’ of the Internet

Nikonov believes the authority delegated to LaLiga should serve as a wake-up call for the global internet. He says that the authority to interfere with internet functioning has elevated the company to a powerful position; the big question is whether anyone can do anything about it.

“LaLiga is becoming a private regulator: not a state or an independent regulator, but a commercial organization that has delegated authority to interfere with network infrastructure. Football matches have become the pretext for a large-scale experiment on the internet, testing whether there is anyone to protect its freedom,” Nikonov says.

“If the football league has such powers today, then nothing will stop other major players from acquiring them tomorrow. We’re talking about media holdings, streaming companies, and corporations for whom content is not entertainment, but a source of profit.”

Trade Barriers, No Legal Recourse

In a late October submission to the 2026 National Trade Assessment Report, Cloudflare warned the Trump administration that Spanish courts allow rightsholders to request “overbroad court orders” that cause collateral damage affecting tens of thousands of legitimate websites.

Since the Spanish government has chosen not to intervene, and “no judicial opportunity for remedy” currently exists, Cloudflare said that creates “significant trade barriers between the countries.”

Nikonov uses similar terms to those used in a Cloudflare-commissioned report released in the summer . “The internet will become fragmented,” he says, before reminding readers that state institutions won’t be responsible, but commercial organizations shielded by government.

“This scheme avoids public debate (the Spanish parliament refused to consider the issue, citing a court ruling) and instead considers the proportionality of the measures. Under the guise of copyright protection, a tool is emerging that allows commercial players to directly influence the accessibility of parts of the internet, bypassing legal proceedings.

“Access to resources will be determined not by technical standards, but by the interests of private corporations with administrative resources,” he warns.

More Powerful Tools Than Previously Reported?

Nikonov suggests that more powerful tools are being deployed in Spain, beyond simple DNS blocking. He claims that a key role belongs to the National Telecommunications Market Commission (CNMC), which, at the behest of LaLiga issues “mandatory directives” to all Spanish ISPs, urging “the fastest possible compliance.”

“[This] effectively forces them to implement DNS and BGP filtering. Border Gateway Protocol is the primary dynamic routing protocol on the internet,” he continues.

A phrase often used to convey the importance of BGP is simple but effective: BGP is the glue that holds the internet together . That’s not overblown or alarmist ; but some would argue that meddling with it is.

“As a result, telecom operators are becoming the enforcers of state anti-piracy policies. What we’re facing is no longer an isolated failure, but a testing of a model that sets a precedent for new internet governance — a private corporation, through the regulator, gains de facto access to leverage over network infrastructure.”

Regulation and Using the Same System For ‘Something Else’

It’s possible that at some point there will be calls for site blocking to be regulated, but according to Nikonov, some may welcome that with open arms.

“[M]odern digital ecosystems are structured in such a way that anyone who gains access to regulatory levers automatically gains power over the infrastructure used by millions of people. In other words, the internet today is no longer a distributed network, but a set of control points, each of which becomes a juicy target,” he notes.

“And if today this point is used to protect football broadcasts, tomorrow it will be used for something entirely different.”

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

A report published by the European Commission last month assessed whether its Recommendation of May 2023 had made a difference in the fight against pirated streams.

No significant improvement ” was the downbeat conclusion.

From the perspective of top-tier Spanish football league, LaLiga, new legislation is the only workable solution, and it needs to be implemented in Europe, sooner rather than later.

LaLiga Claims to Have Slashed Piracy in Half, Give or Take

At the same time as urgently calling for new legislation, LaLiga claims to have reduced piracy of its content in Spain by as much as 60% . This was achieved under existing legislation for the season that concluded at the end of the summer. A 40% reduction, the lower figure previously cited by LaLiga, would still be unprecedented.

Yet, in the context of LaLiga’s court-ordered authority, which permits aggressive blocking of almost any site or service facilitating access to pirate streams of its premium content, such results are not absolutely impossible, at least in measured short bursts. LaLiga regularly laments Cloudflare’s refusal to prevent piracy platforms from using its services and for every week that remains the case, Cloudflare IP addresses – utilized by pirates and regular customers alike – are blocked by Spanish ISPs.

LaLiga reports that in May 2025, 38% of piracy involving LaLiga content “was distributed through Cloudflare’s infrastructure.” So at least on paper and without considering circumvention and other factors, aggressive yet effective blocking of Cloudflare would in theory be sufficient to claim a ~40% reduction in piracy rates.

The problem, which has thus far proven impossible to solve, is how blanket denial of service to piracy platforms can be executed without subjecting innocent parties to the same fate.

Internet Private Security Guard

As Head of Web Application Protection at DDoS-Guard , a Russian Internet company providing protective online services, Dmitry Nikonov understands the importance of connectivity. Operating in broadly the same market as Cloudflare, DDoS-Guard has been paying close attention to the events playing out in Spain.

LaLiga’s legal authority allows it to block Cloudflare and in the event that DDoS-Guard’s services also become a concern, there would be no legal barrier to prevent it from being treated in much the same way. The consequences of non-compliance seem to have alarmed Nikonov.

“This is happening right now, in the fall of 2025, and the scale of this phenomenon is astonishing. It seems LaLiga is beyond control,” Nikonov writes in a column for Forbes Russia .

“LaLiga can essentially apply a ‘piracy’ mask to entire ranges of addresses, often affecting endpoints that are not directly related to illegal broadcasts.”

‘Private Regulation’ of the Internet

Nikonov believes the authority delegated to LaLiga should serve as a wake-up call for the global internet. He says that the authority to interfere with internet functioning has elevated the company to a powerful position; the big question is whether anyone can do anything about it.

“LaLiga is becoming a private regulator: not a state or an independent regulator, but a commercial organization that has delegated authority to interfere with network infrastructure. Football matches have become the pretext for a large-scale experiment on the internet, testing whether there is anyone to protect its freedom,” Nikonov says.

“If the football league has such powers today, then nothing will stop other major players from acquiring them tomorrow. We’re talking about media holdings, streaming companies, and corporations for whom content is not entertainment, but a source of profit.”

Trade Barriers, No Legal Recourse

In a late October submission to the 2026 National Trade Assessment Report, Cloudflare warned the Trump administration that Spanish courts allow rightsholders to request “overbroad court orders” that cause collateral damage affecting tens of thousands of legitimate websites.

Since the Spanish government has chosen not to intervene, and “no judicial opportunity for remedy” currently exists, Cloudflare said that creates “significant trade barriers between the countries.”

Nikonov uses similar terms to those used in a Cloudflare-commissioned report released in the summer . “The internet will become fragmented,” he says, before reminding readers that state institutions won’t be responsible, but commercial organizations shielded by government.

“This scheme avoids public debate (the Spanish parliament refused to consider the issue, citing a court ruling) and instead considers the proportionality of the measures. Under the guise of copyright protection, a tool is emerging that allows commercial players to directly influence the accessibility of parts of the internet, bypassing legal proceedings.

“Access to resources will be determined not by technical standards, but by the interests of private corporations with administrative resources,” he warns.

More Powerful Tools Than Previously Reported?

Nikonov suggests that more powerful tools are being deployed in Spain, beyond simple DNS blocking. He claims that a key role belongs to the National Telecommunications Market Commission (CNMC), which, at the behest of LaLiga issues “mandatory directives” to all Spanish ISPs, urging “the fastest possible compliance.”

“[This] effectively forces them to implement DNS and BGP filtering. Border Gateway Protocol is the primary dynamic routing protocol on the internet,” he continues.

A phrase often used to convey the importance of BGP is simple but effective: BGP is the glue that holds the internet together . That’s not overblown or alarmist ; but some would argue that meddling with it is.

“As a result, telecom operators are becoming the enforcers of state anti-piracy policies. What we’re facing is no longer an isolated failure, but a testing of a model that sets a precedent for new internet governance — a private corporation, through the regulator, gains de facto access to leverage over network infrastructure.”

Regulation and Using the Same System For ‘Something Else’

It’s possible that at some point there will be calls for site blocking to be regulated, but according to Nikonov, some may welcome that with open arms.

“[M]odern digital ecosystems are structured in such a way that anyone who gains access to regulatory levers automatically gains power over the infrastructure used by millions of people. In other words, the internet today is no longer a distributed network, but a set of control points, each of which becomes a juicy target,” he notes.

“And if today this point is used to protect football broadcasts, tomorrow it will be used for something entirely different.”

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

A report published by the European Commission last month assessed whether its Recommendation of May 2023 had made a difference in the fight against pirated streams.

No significant improvement ” was the downbeat conclusion.

From the perspective of top-tier Spanish football league, LaLiga, new legislation is the only workable solution, and it needs to be implemented in Europe, sooner rather than later.

LaLiga Claims to Have Slashed Piracy in Half, Give or Take

At the same time as urgently calling for new legislation, LaLiga claims to have reduced piracy of its content in Spain by as much as 60% . This was achieved under existing legislation for the season that concluded at the end of the summer. A 40% reduction, the lower figure previously cited by LaLiga, would still be unprecedented.

Yet, in the context of LaLiga’s court-ordered authority, which permits aggressive blocking of almost any site or service facilitating access to pirate streams of its premium content, such results are not absolutely impossible, at least in measured short bursts. LaLiga regularly laments Cloudflare’s refusal to prevent piracy platforms from using its services and for every week that remains the case, Cloudflare IP addresses – utilized by pirates and regular customers alike – are blocked by Spanish ISPs.

LaLiga reports that in May 2025, 38% of piracy involving LaLiga content “was distributed through Cloudflare’s infrastructure.” So at least on paper and without considering circumvention and other factors, aggressive yet effective blocking of Cloudflare would in theory be sufficient to claim a ~40% reduction in piracy rates.

The problem, which has thus far proven impossible to solve, is how blanket denial of service to piracy platforms can be executed without subjecting innocent parties to the same fate.

Internet Private Security Guard

As Head of Web Application Protection at DDoS-Guard , a Russian Internet company providing protective online services, Dmitry Nikonov understands the importance of connectivity. Operating in broadly the same market as Cloudflare, DDoS-Guard has been paying close attention to the events playing out in Spain.

LaLiga’s legal authority allows it to block Cloudflare and in the event that DDoS-Guard’s services also become a concern, there would be no legal barrier to prevent it from being treated in much the same way. The consequences of non-compliance seem to have alarmed Nikonov.

“This is happening right now, in the fall of 2025, and the scale of this phenomenon is astonishing. It seems LaLiga is beyond control,” Nikonov writes in a column for Forbes Russia .

“LaLiga can essentially apply a ‘piracy’ mask to entire ranges of addresses, often affecting endpoints that are not directly related to illegal broadcasts.”

‘Private Regulation’ of the Internet

Nikonov believes the authority delegated to LaLiga should serve as a wake-up call for the global internet. He says that the authority to interfere with internet functioning has elevated the company to a powerful position; the big question is whether anyone can do anything about it.

“LaLiga is becoming a private regulator: not a state or an independent regulator, but a commercial organization that has delegated authority to interfere with network infrastructure. Football matches have become the pretext for a large-scale experiment on the internet, testing whether there is anyone to protect its freedom,” Nikonov says.

“If the football league has such powers today, then nothing will stop other major players from acquiring them tomorrow. We’re talking about media holdings, streaming companies, and corporations for whom content is not entertainment, but a source of profit.”

Trade Barriers, No Legal Recourse

In a late October submission to the 2026 National Trade Assessment Report, Cloudflare warned the Trump administration that Spanish courts allow rightsholders to request “overbroad court orders” that cause collateral damage affecting tens of thousands of legitimate websites.

Since the Spanish government has chosen not to intervene, and “no judicial opportunity for remedy” currently exists, Cloudflare said that creates “significant trade barriers between the countries.”

Nikonov uses similar terms to those used in a Cloudflare-commissioned report released in the summer . “The internet will become fragmented,” he says, before reminding readers that state institutions won’t be responsible, but commercial organizations shielded by government.

“This scheme avoids public debate (the Spanish parliament refused to consider the issue, citing a court ruling) and instead considers the proportionality of the measures. Under the guise of copyright protection, a tool is emerging that allows commercial players to directly influence the accessibility of parts of the internet, bypassing legal proceedings.

“Access to resources will be determined not by technical standards, but by the interests of private corporations with administrative resources,” he warns.

More Powerful Tools Than Previously Reported?

Nikonov suggests that more powerful tools are being deployed in Spain, beyond simple DNS blocking. He claims that a key role belongs to the National Telecommunications Market Commission (CNMC), which, at the behest of LaLiga issues “mandatory directives” to all Spanish ISPs, urging “the fastest possible compliance.”

“[This] effectively forces them to implement DNS and BGP filtering. Border Gateway Protocol is the primary dynamic routing protocol on the internet,” he continues.

A phrase often used to convey the importance of BGP is simple but effective: BGP is the glue that holds the internet together . That’s not overblown or alarmist ; but some would argue that meddling with it is.

“As a result, telecom operators are becoming the enforcers of state anti-piracy policies. What we’re facing is no longer an isolated failure, but a testing of a model that sets a precedent for new internet governance — a private corporation, through the regulator, gains de facto access to leverage over network infrastructure.”

Regulation and Using the Same System For ‘Something Else’

It’s possible that at some point there will be calls for site blocking to be regulated, but according to Nikonov, some may welcome that with open arms.

“[M]odern digital ecosystems are structured in such a way that anyone who gains access to regulatory levers automatically gains power over the infrastructure used by millions of people. In other words, the internet today is no longer a distributed network, but a set of control points, each of which becomes a juicy target,” he notes.

“And if today this point is used to protect football broadcasts, tomorrow it will be used for something entirely different.”

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Investigations, prosecutions and substantial prison sentences are an important part of the anti-piracy arsenal. The public downfall of a prolific pirate provides the kind of deterrent messaging that can put people off before they even get started.

At least, that’s a possibility, if everything goes according to plan.

Sky Investigates TikTok Star

UK man Simon Hannigan is a popular food and cooking star on social media. Active on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, his ‘DadtheDish’ account on the latter has over 523,000 followers and 6.4 million likes.

At what point Sky’s investigation linked Hannigan to piracy is unclear but at his sentencing last week, his Facebook groups – including one with 4,775 members – were described as “shop windows” for his sales of pirate IPTV subscriptions. Reportedly using streams sourced from an operation in Europe, Hannigan’s Android app provided 3,500 channels (including those belonging to Sky) for £28 for six months or just £50 per year. Payments for subscriptions were recorded as “paid adverts.”

According to local news outlet MEN , business was good.

“The court heard how Hannigan had previously gloated about his success in text messages, claiming that ‘business was booming’ and ‘phones were blowing up’.”

Sky Investigates, Police Step in to Make the Arrest

On March 23, 2022, what’s described as a Sky-led investigation culminated in Hannigan’s arrest. He reportedly confessed to providing ‘links’ but denied breaching copyright laws, “arguing he wasn’t in control of the system,” MEN reports.

“One of the ‘mother systems’ used to facilitate the operation was based in Europe, serving 50 million people globally,” the publication continues.

The investigation eventually traced 2,644 payments made directly into Hannigan’s bank account, together worth around £152,000.

His arrest in March 2022 apparently came as a relief; the now 35-year-old said being a ‘downstream middle man’ was ‘very difficult’ and took its toll. He was reportedly glad to see an end to the stress it had caused him but with a potential prison sentence looming at his sentencing last Thursday, would the stress return?

Sentencing

At Preston Crown Court, Hannigan received a two-year sentence suspended for 24 months, and was told to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work. So perhaps some stress, but nothing compared to the stress of a Manchester prison. For a legal system that currently hands down years in prison for offensive tweets, Hannigan might consider himself lucky.

He pleaded guilty to offenses that began in 2019 and only ended upon his arrest three years later; participating in a fraudulent business, concealing and transferring criminal property, and providing a service contrary to copyright law.

Local news reports published Friday following Hannigan’s sentencing are notable for something else; the complete absence of official commentary.

No statement from Sky is unusual, something that also raises questions about the nature of the prosecution. In common with the Premier League, Sky often carries out private prosecutions and the mention of a Sky-led investigation does seem to point in that general direction. If that’s indeed the case, balancing the prospect of future prosecutions against community service may be a difficult exercise.

The absence of any commentary from regional police is unusual too, even when considering the lack of a custodial sentence. The absence of both Sky and police is even more unusual but whether the suspended sentence dampened enthusiasm is unknown.

Whether Hannigan’s mitigation tipped the scales is unclear, but a closer look at his portrayal in the media is certainly interesting.

Get Knocked Down, and Keep Getting Back Up Again

Even before his arrest in 2022, Hannigan had appeared in national media. In April 2021, an interview with prominent broadcaster ITV revealed how 11 years earlier, Hannigan found himself homeless and living in a second hand £250 car.

A 2023 interview with national newspaper The Sun revealed that those days were long gone.

“A chef who makes thousands from sharing recipes online used to be homeless and living out of his car,” the interview begins.

“Simon makes between £2,500 – £5,000 per post, collaborating with some of the UK‘s biggest supermarket and homeware brands for sponsored content. His creative endeavor began as a bit of fun two years ago when he set up an Instagram teaching people how to cook during lockdown.”

The article also mentions how Hannigan made the leap from sleeping in a car to selling lots of them. Hannigan told The Sun he sold the car after being motivated by a kind stranger and then immediately launched a new business.

“I turned that one car into eighty cars with six months, buying and selling them, for £2,000 each,” he said, adding that landed him a job at Ford and at just 24, he became “head of business” at Ford UK on a salary of £150,000. Then he started his own recruitment company, a a post on LinkedIn reveals.

A Changed, Copyright-Aware Man

During mitigation, the Court heard that prior to the pirate IPTV business, Hannigan had been hospitalized with a burst appendix. When he returned home, he discovered that his partner had left him for his friend, and once again found himself in ‘dire financial straits’. Looking for work, he reportedly posted on Facebook and stumbled into IPTV sales, initially catering to family and friends.

MEN reports that Hannigan is now proposing to “assist Sky News and the British Copyright Council” to help deter others so that they don’t end up in a similar predicament. Yet as deterrent messaging goes, his case may not be the best example.

Instead of news that Hannigan will be sampling prison food for the next few months, any hope of sending a deterrent message on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, lies in shreds. Even Hannigan’s entrepreneurial spirit and never say die attitude may not be especially motivational, at least according to the paperwork.

From a car retail business, recruitment company, clothing and vodka businesses, to Dad the Dish Limited and his latest venture, Munch Box, the overwhelming majority were incorporated and then dissolved by the government for failing to file even their first set of accounts.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Investigations, prosecutions and substantial prison sentences are an important part of the anti-piracy arsenal. The public downfall of a prolific pirate provides the kind of deterrent messaging that can put people off before they even get started.

At least, that’s a possibility, if everything goes according to plan.

Sky Investigates TikTok Star

UK man Simon Hannigan is a popular food and cooking star on social media. Active on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, his ‘DadtheDish’ account on the latter has over 523,000 followers and 6.4 million likes.

At what point Sky’s investigation linked Hannigan to piracy is unclear but at his sentencing last week, his Facebook groups – including one with 4,775 members – were described as “shop windows” for his sales of pirate IPTV subscriptions. Reportedly using streams sourced from an operation in Europe, Hannigan’s Android app provided 3,500 channels (including those belonging to Sky) for £28 for six months or just £50 per year. Payments for subscriptions were recorded as “paid adverts.”

According to local news outlet MEN , business was good.

“The court heard how Hannigan had previously gloated about his success in text messages, claiming that ‘business was booming’ and ‘phones were blowing up’.”

Sky Investigates, Police Step in to Make the Arrest

On March 23, 2022, what’s described as a Sky-led investigation culminated in Hannigan’s arrest. He reportedly confessed to providing ‘links’ but denied breaching copyright laws, “arguing he wasn’t in control of the system,” MEN reports.

“One of the ‘mother systems’ used to facilitate the operation was based in Europe, serving 50 million people globally,” the publication continues.

The investigation eventually traced 2,644 payments made directly into Hannigan’s bank account, together worth around £152,000.

His arrest in March 2022 apparently came as a relief; the now 35-year-old said being a ‘downstream middle man’ was ‘very difficult’ and took its toll. He was reportedly glad to see an end to the stress it had caused him but with a potential prison sentence looming at his sentencing last Thursday, would the stress return?

Sentencing

At Preston Crown Court, Hannigan received a two-year sentence suspended for 24 months, and was told to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work. So perhaps some stress, but nothing compared to the stress of a Manchester prison. For a legal system that currently hands down years in prison for offensive tweets, Hannigan might consider himself lucky.

He pleaded guilty to offenses that began in 2019 and only ended upon his arrest three years later; participating in a fraudulent business, concealing and transferring criminal property, and providing a service contrary to copyright law.

Local news reports published Friday following Hannigan’s sentencing are notable for something else; the complete absence of official commentary.

No statement from Sky is unusual, something that also raises questions about the nature of the prosecution. In common with the Premier League, Sky often carries out private prosecutions and the mention of a Sky-led investigation does seem to point in that general direction. If that’s indeed the case, balancing the prospect of future prosecutions against community service may be a difficult exercise.

The absence of any commentary from regional police is unusual too, even when considering the lack of a custodial sentence. The absence of both Sky and police is even more unusual but whether the suspended sentence dampened enthusiasm is unknown.

Whether Hannigan’s mitigation tipped the scales is unclear, but a closer look at his portrayal in the media is certainly interesting.

Get Knocked Down, and Keep Getting Back Up Again

Even before his arrest in 2022, Hannigan had appeared in national media. In April 2021, an interview with prominent broadcaster ITV revealed how 11 years earlier, Hannigan found himself homeless and living in a second hand £250 car.

A 2023 interview with national newspaper The Sun revealed that those days were long gone.

“A chef who makes thousands from sharing recipes online used to be homeless and living out of his car,” the interview begins.

“Simon makes between £2,500 – £5,000 per post, collaborating with some of the UK‘s biggest supermarket and homeware brands for sponsored content. His creative endeavor began as a bit of fun two years ago when he set up an Instagram teaching people how to cook during lockdown.”

The article also mentions how Hannigan made the leap from sleeping in a car to selling lots of them. Hannigan told The Sun he sold the car after being motivated by a kind stranger and then immediately launched a new business.

“I turned that one car into eighty cars with six months, buying and selling them, for £2,000 each,” he said, adding that landed him a job at Ford and at just 24, he became “head of business” at Ford UK on a salary of £150,000. Then he started his own recruitment company, a a post on LinkedIn reveals.

A Changed, Copyright-Aware Man

During mitigation, the Court heard that prior to the pirate IPTV business, Hannigan had been hospitalized with a burst appendix. When he returned home, he discovered that his partner had left him for his friend, and once again found himself in ‘dire financial straits’. Looking for work, he reportedly posted on Facebook and stumbled into IPTV sales, initially catering to family and friends.

MEN reports that Hannigan is now proposing to “assist Sky News and the British Copyright Council” to help deter others so that they don’t end up in a similar predicament. Yet as deterrent messaging goes, his case may not be the best example.

Instead of news that Hannigan will be sampling prison food for the next few months, any hope of sending a deterrent message on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, lies in shreds. Even Hannigan’s entrepreneurial spirit and never say die attitude may not be especially motivational, at least according to the paperwork.

From a car retail business, recruitment company, clothing and vodka businesses, to Dad the Dish Limited and his latest venture, Munch Box, the overwhelming majority were incorporated and then dissolved by the government for failing to file even their first set of accounts.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Investigations, prosecutions and substantial prison sentences are an important part of the anti-piracy arsenal. The public downfall of a prolific pirate provides the kind of deterrent messaging that can put people off before they even get started.

At least, that’s a possibility, if everything goes according to plan.

Sky Investigates TikTok Star

UK man Simon Hannigan is a popular food and cooking star on social media. Active on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, his ‘DadtheDish’ account on the latter has over 523,000 followers and 6.4 million likes.

At what point Sky’s investigation linked Hannigan to piracy is unclear but at his sentencing last week, his Facebook groups – including one with 4,775 members – were described as “shop windows” for his sales of pirate IPTV subscriptions. Reportedly using streams sourced from an operation in Europe, Hannigan’s Android app provided 3,500 channels (including those belonging to Sky) for £28 for six months or just £50 per year. Payments for subscriptions were recorded as “paid adverts.”

According to local news outlet MEN , business was good.

“The court heard how Hannigan had previously gloated about his success in text messages, claiming that ‘business was booming’ and ‘phones were blowing up’.”

Sky Investigates, Police Step in to Make the Arrest

On March 23, 2022, what’s described as a Sky-led investigation culminated in Hannigan’s arrest. He reportedly confessed to providing ‘links’ but denied breaching copyright laws, “arguing he wasn’t in control of the system,” MEN reports.

“One of the ‘mother systems’ used to facilitate the operation was based in Europe, serving 50 million people globally,” the publication continues.

The investigation eventually traced 2,644 payments made directly into Hannigan’s bank account, together worth around £152,000.

His arrest in March 2022 apparently came as a relief; the now 35-year-old said being a ‘downstream middle man’ was ‘very difficult’ and took its toll. He was reportedly glad to see an end to the stress it had caused him but with a potential prison sentence looming at his sentencing last Thursday, would the stress return?

Sentencing

At Preston Crown Court, Hannigan received a two-year sentence suspended for 24 months, and was told to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work. So perhaps some stress, but nothing compared to the stress of a Manchester prison. For a legal system that currently hands down years in prison for offensive tweets, Hannigan might consider himself lucky.

He pleaded guilty to offenses that began in 2019 and only ended upon his arrest three years later; participating in a fraudulent business, concealing and transferring criminal property, and providing a service contrary to copyright law.

Local news reports published Friday following Hannigan’s sentencing are notable for something else; the complete absence of official commentary.

No statement from Sky is unusual, something that also raises questions about the nature of the prosecution. In common with the Premier League, Sky often carries out private prosecutions and the mention of a Sky-led investigation does seem to point in that general direction. If that’s indeed the case, balancing the prospect of future prosecutions against community service may be a difficult exercise.

The absence of any commentary from regional police is unusual too, even when considering the lack of a custodial sentence. The absence of both Sky and police is even more unusual but whether the suspended sentence dampened enthusiasm is unknown.

Whether Hannigan’s mitigation tipped the scales is unclear, but a closer look at his portrayal in the media is certainly interesting.

Get Knocked Down, and Keep Getting Back Up Again

Even before his arrest in 2022, Hannigan had appeared in national media. In April 2021, an interview with prominent broadcaster ITV revealed how 11 years earlier, Hannigan found himself homeless and living in a second hand £250 car.

A 2023 interview with national newspaper The Sun revealed that those days were long gone.

“A chef who makes thousands from sharing recipes online used to be homeless and living out of his car,” the interview begins.

“Simon makes between £2,500 – £5,000 per post, collaborating with some of the UK‘s biggest supermarket and homeware brands for sponsored content. His creative endeavor began as a bit of fun two years ago when he set up an Instagram teaching people how to cook during lockdown.”

The article also mentions how Hannigan made the leap from sleeping in a car to selling lots of them. Hannigan told The Sun he sold the car after being motivated by a kind stranger and then immediately launched a new business.

“I turned that one car into eighty cars with six months, buying and selling them, for £2,000 each,” he said, adding that landed him a job at Ford and at just 24, he became “head of business” at Ford UK on a salary of £150,000. Then he started his own recruitment company, a a post on LinkedIn reveals.

A Changed, Copyright-Aware Man

During mitigation, the Court heard that prior to the pirate IPTV business, Hannigan had been hospitalized with a burst appendix. When he returned home, he discovered that his partner had left him for his friend, and once again found himself in ‘dire financial straits’. Looking for work, he reportedly posted on Facebook and stumbled into IPTV sales, initially catering to family and friends.

MEN reports that Hannigan is now proposing to “assist Sky News and the British Copyright Council” to help deter others so that they don’t end up in a similar predicament. Yet as deterrent messaging goes, his case may not be the best example.

Instead of news that Hannigan will be sampling prison food for the next few months, any hope of sending a deterrent message on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, lies in shreds. Even Hannigan’s entrepreneurial spirit and never say die attitude may not be especially motivational, at least according to the paperwork.

From a car retail business, recruitment company, clothing and vodka businesses, to Dad the Dish Limited and his latest venture, Munch Box, the overwhelming majority were incorporated and then dissolved by the government for failing to file even their first set of accounts.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

In May 2024, the Paris Judicial Court ordered Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco to block access to several pirate sports streaming sites.

The move was a major enforcement escalation by French rightsholders, but in hindsight it was only the beginning.

In the months that followed, additional rightsholders such as DAZN and beIN joined in on the action with similar requests, while more DNS providers were added as targets, including Quad9 and Vercel . This pitted notably smaller players against these billion-dollar companies in court.

An Existential Threat

Quad9 was no stranger to site blocking requests, having previously dealt with a similar legal battle in Germany. That said, for the small Swiss non-profit organization, these proceedings are more than a legal disagreement. They present an existential threat.

For billion-dollar tech companies Google and Cloudflare, dealing with these legal challenges is a nuisance, but they have the means to fight back. In a recent blog post , Quad9 explains that its foundation doesn’t have this luxury.

“For large commercial players such as Google, Cloudflare, or Cisco, these costs — legal, lobbying, or engineering — are absorbed as part of their business overhead.

“For small, mission-driven nonprofits like Quad9, they represent an existential threat,” the DNS provider adds.

Ideally Quad9 would like to defend itself in these blocking cases, as Google and Cloudflare have done. However, since it doesn’t have the financial resources to do so, it chose not to make an appearance in one of the recent site-blocking cases.

Breaking the Internet’s Plumbing

Quad9 argues that copyright holders are increasingly trying to hold neutral intermediaries liable for piracy. Instead of going after the infringers directly, ISPs, VPNs, and DNS providers have to take on the enforcement burden.

This is particularly problematic for smaller operations that, according to Quad9, simply don’t have the means to do so indefinitely. Not only that, by going after DNS providers, these orders also directly affect key internet infrastructure providers.

“Instead of targeting the platforms that profit from infringement, IP owners are increasingly going after the neutral infrastructure providers that simply make the internet work,” Quad9 writes.

In response to the French blocking efforts, Cisco decided to leave France, so the effects of these measures are already being felt.

Other companies, such as Google and Cloudflare, have the technical means to restrict the blockades to France, but not all providers can do so easily. That includes Quad9, which had no other choice than to apply the French blocking request worldwide.

Big Questions

In France, the courts have clearly decided that these blocking orders are warranted, and while some are under appeal, there’s no indication that they will be reversed anytime soon. That said, Quad9 believes that a broader discussion is warranted, and it poses several questions that go to the heart of how the internet should function.

In its blog post, the foundation asks, among other things:

“Should neutral, technical infrastructure be held responsible for the actions of others?”

“How far should courts reach across jurisdictions to impose national laws on global networks?”

“Can small nonprofits survive under legal obligations designed for global corporations?”

“What happens to privacy and resiliency when only a handful of corporations can afford to comply?”

“At what point does legal compliance become de facto censorship?”

These are not just rhetorical questions for the Swiss non-profit. After fighting and winning a multi-year, costly legal battle against Sony in Germany , Quad9’s “existential threat” has reemerged in France.

Ultimately, Quad9 warns that these blocking battles may lead to a less open, less private, and more centralized internet, leaving the “plumbing” in the hands of a few corporate giants who can afford to pay the legal bills.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

In May 2024, the Paris Judicial Court ordered Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco to block access to several pirate sports streaming sites.

The move was a major enforcement escalation by French rightsholders, but in hindsight it was only the beginning.

In the months that followed, additional rightsholders such as DAZN and beIN joined in on the action with similar requests, while more DNS providers were added as targets, including Quad9 and Vercel . This pitted notably smaller players against these billion-dollar companies in court.

An Existential Threat

Quad9 was no stranger to site blocking requests, having previously dealt with a similar legal battle in Germany. That said, for the small Swiss non-profit organization, these proceedings are more than a legal disagreement. They present an existential threat.

For billion-dollar tech companies Google and Cloudflare, dealing with these legal challenges is a nuisance, but they have the means to fight back. In a recent blog post , Quad9 explains that its foundation doesn’t have this luxury.

“For large commercial players such as Google, Cloudflare, or Cisco, these costs — legal, lobbying, or engineering — are absorbed as part of their business overhead.

“For small, mission-driven nonprofits like Quad9, they represent an existential threat,” the DNS provider adds.

Ideally Quad9 would like to defend itself in these blocking cases, as Google and Cloudflare have done. However, since it doesn’t have the financial resources to do so, it chose not to make an appearance in one of the recent site-blocking cases.

Breaking the Internet’s Plumbing

Quad9 argues that copyright holders are increasingly trying to hold neutral intermediaries liable for piracy. Instead of going after the infringers directly, ISPs, VPNs, and DNS providers have to take on the enforcement burden.

This is particularly problematic for smaller operations that, according to Quad9, simply don’t have the means to do so indefinitely. Not only that, by going after DNS providers, these orders also directly affect key internet infrastructure providers.

“Instead of targeting the platforms that profit from infringement, IP owners are increasingly going after the neutral infrastructure providers that simply make the internet work,” Quad9 writes.

In response to the French blocking efforts, Cisco decided to leave France, so the effects of these measures are already being felt.

Other companies, such as Google and Cloudflare, have the technical means to restrict the blockades to France, but not all providers can do so easily. That includes Quad9, which had no other choice than to apply the French blocking request worldwide.

Big Questions

In France, the courts have clearly decided that these blocking orders are warranted, and while some are under appeal, there’s no indication that they will be reversed anytime soon. That said, Quad9 believes that a broader discussion is warranted, and it poses several questions that go to the heart of how the internet should function.

In its blog post, the foundation asks, among other things:

“Should neutral, technical infrastructure be held responsible for the actions of others?”

“How far should courts reach across jurisdictions to impose national laws on global networks?”

“Can small nonprofits survive under legal obligations designed for global corporations?”

“What happens to privacy and resiliency when only a handful of corporations can afford to comply?”

“At what point does legal compliance become de facto censorship?”

These are not just rhetorical questions for the Swiss non-profit. After fighting and winning a multi-year, costly legal battle against Sony in Germany , Quad9’s “existential threat” has reemerged in France.

Ultimately, Quad9 warns that these blocking battles may lead to a less open, less private, and more centralized internet, leaving the “plumbing” in the hands of a few corporate giants who can afford to pay the legal bills.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

In May 2024, the Paris Judicial Court ordered Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco to block access to several pirate sports streaming sites.

The move was a major enforcement escalation by French rightsholders, but in hindsight it was only the beginning.

In the months that followed, additional rightsholders such as DAZN and beIN joined in on the action with similar requests, while more DNS providers were added as targets, including Quad9 and Vercel . This pitted notably smaller players against these billion-dollar companies in court.

An Existential Threat

Quad9 was no stranger to site blocking requests, having previously dealt with a similar legal battle in Germany. That said, for the small Swiss non-profit organization, these proceedings are more than a legal disagreement. They present an existential threat.

For billion-dollar tech companies Google and Cloudflare, dealing with these legal challenges is a nuisance, but they have the means to fight back. In a recent blog post , Quad9 explains that its foundation doesn’t have this luxury.

“For large commercial players such as Google, Cloudflare, or Cisco, these costs — legal, lobbying, or engineering — are absorbed as part of their business overhead.

“For small, mission-driven nonprofits like Quad9, they represent an existential threat,” the DNS provider adds.

Ideally Quad9 would like to defend itself in these blocking cases, as Google and Cloudflare have done. However, since it doesn’t have the financial resources to do so, it chose not to make an appearance in one of the recent site-blocking cases.

Breaking the Internet’s Plumbing

Quad9 argues that copyright holders are increasingly trying to hold neutral intermediaries liable for piracy. Instead of going after the infringers directly, ISPs, VPNs, and DNS providers have to take on the enforcement burden.

This is particularly problematic for smaller operations that, according to Quad9, simply don’t have the means to do so indefinitely. Not only that, by going after DNS providers, these orders also directly affect key internet infrastructure providers.

“Instead of targeting the platforms that profit from infringement, IP owners are increasingly going after the neutral infrastructure providers that simply make the internet work,” Quad9 writes.

In response to the French blocking efforts, Cisco decided to leave France, so the effects of these measures are already being felt.

Other companies, such as Google and Cloudflare, have the technical means to restrict the blockades to France, but not all providers can do so easily. That includes Quad9, which had no other choice than to apply the French blocking request worldwide.

Big Questions

In France, the courts have clearly decided that these blocking orders are warranted, and while some are under appeal, there’s no indication that they will be reversed anytime soon. That said, Quad9 believes that a broader discussion is warranted, and it poses several questions that go to the heart of how the internet should function.

In its blog post, the foundation asks, among other things:

“Should neutral, technical infrastructure be held responsible for the actions of others?”

“How far should courts reach across jurisdictions to impose national laws on global networks?”

“Can small nonprofits survive under legal obligations designed for global corporations?”

“What happens to privacy and resiliency when only a handful of corporations can afford to comply?”

“At what point does legal compliance become de facto censorship?”

These are not just rhetorical questions for the Swiss non-profit. After fighting and winning a multi-year, costly legal battle against Sony in Germany , Quad9’s “existential threat” has reemerged in France.

Ultimately, Quad9 warns that these blocking battles may lead to a less open, less private, and more centralized internet, leaving the “plumbing” in the hands of a few corporate giants who can afford to pay the legal bills.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.