Dodgy Firestick crackdown: how police detect illegal streams on ‘jailbroken’ Firesticks

• A crackdown on ‘dodgy’ Firesticks has been ongoing in 2024.
• Arrests have been made - and a man has even been jailed.
• But how do the authorities find people using these devices?

A clampdown on the sale of ‘dodgy’ Firesticks in the run up to Christmas has seen people visited in their homes. It has also led to the arrest of a man in Wales.

The crackdown spanned across the UK including locations such as Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire, the East and West Midlands, Northamptonshire and many more. Enforcement was carried out in a total of 30 regions in November.

Earlier in the year a man was jailed over the sale of ‘dodgy’ firesticks in Liverpool. But if you have owned one of these streaming sticks in the past, you might be wondering how exactly the police can detect them.

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Here’s all you need to know:

How are ‘dodgy’ Firesticks detected?

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has been carrying out a clampdown on ‘dodgy’ firesticks during 2024, as mentioned above it has recently led to homes being raided and even caused people to be arrested. But Yahoo! News also reports that it is not just the sellers that could be at risk of legal trouble over the illicit streaming sticks.

FACT has explained in the past: “Fact constantly monitors the digital landscape to combat illegal streaming activities in the UK and Ireland. We utilise a range of methods to identify individuals engaged in unauthorised businesses that offer access to illegal streams.”

According to Your Local Guardian, the agency heavily relies heavily on people reporting having seen an illegal stream - to catch people. But if FACT becomes aware of an illegal streamers, you could get a knock at your door.

FACT added: “One of these methods is through our partnership with Crimestoppers to make it as easy as possible to report illegal streaming, and over the past year, we have seen a significant increase in the number of reports directly linked to Firesticks and illegal streaming.

"These reports are then investigated by our Intelligence Unit, and followed up with a rolling programme of action which includes issuing 'Cease and Desist' letters and conducting nationwide 'Knock and Talks'.

"These home visits, undertaken in conjunction with law enforcement, serve to inform individuals about their activities and the immediate need to cease and desist or face further action or prosecution. We also work in close collaboration with law enforcement to gather further evidence to actively pursue legal actions against these criminal entities."

What is illegal about ‘jailbroken’ firesticks?

The term ‘jailbroken’ simply refers to installing software that allows you to circumvent any restrictions placed by the maker of a device - such as an Amazon Fire Stick. It is not illegal per say to jailbreak a device, but it can be against the law to use one if you are doing anything illegal with it.

For example if you had a ‘jailbroken’ PlayStation and used it to play pirated video games, that would be illegal. The main legal issue with ‘dodgy’ firesticks is how they are often used to watch illicit sport streams, to get around paying for Sky or other subscriptions.

Also if you don’t pay for a TV licence and watch live sports on a ‘dodgy’ firestick you could be putting yourself at risk of landing a big fine. The max punishment is a £1,000 fine - which could reach £2,000 if you live in Guernsey.

What do you think of the clampdown on ‘dodgy’ firesticks? Share your opinions by emailing me: [email protected].