The sports and audiovisual sectors unite to demand anti-piracy measures from the European Union

LALIGA, together with 36 major companies and organizations from the sports and audiovisual ecosystem, has sent a letter addressed to Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty and Security, and to the Commissioner for Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, urging the adoption of legislative, binding, and result-driven measures.

The signatories stress that the fight against audiovisual fraud requires collaboration and legislative support, especially since voluntary measures and private enforcement are no longer sufficient and legal mechanisms have been outpaced by the speed and sophistication of pirate networks and services.

In reference to the 2023 European Commission Recommendation on combating online piracy of sports and other live events, the signatories call for the introduction of legislation that obliges intermediaries hosting illegal content to remove pirate streams within a maximum of 30 minutes and always before the end of the match. This is considered a minimum standard, with a long-term goal of immediate removal, as is already applied by some intermediaries committed to fighting piracy.

They also call for the implementation of live dynamic blocking in all EU member states and for technology intermediaries, including hosting providers, VPNs, CDNs, and App Stores, to implement user control policies (KYBC – Know Your Business Customer).

Javier Tebas, President of LALIGA, emphasized: “Piracy is the greatest threat to sport right now, and no real or effective measures are being taken to combat it. There is a lot of talk about improvements and change, but no real willingness to act. That must change.”

The 36 signatories also highlighted the need for full implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and called on national digital services coordinators to grant “trusted flagger” status to private organizations such as the signatories when requested.

“As business leaders, employer associations, and unions, we are committed to promoting fair competition, innovation, and accountability. But those principles cannot thrive without basic protection of the content our industries produce and distribute. To be able to continue to contribute to the European economy in ambitious ways, rightsowners must not be left to confront the growing threat of live piracy on their own,” the letter states.

A Threat with direct and measurable impact across Europe

As detailed to the EU, a study revealed that in 2024 alone, 81% of the millions of illegal live streams detected in Europe were not taken down, and less than 3% were removed within 30 minutes of notification.

The estimated annual losses for rights holders are €2.2 billion in Italy’s audiovisual industry, €1.8 billion in Germany, €1.5 billion in France. In Spain, losses are estimated between €600 million and €700 million per year for LALIGA clubs alone.

LALIGA continues collaborating with several intermediaries in the fight against this scourge, including Akamai, Vercel, Scaleway, Worldstream, PureVoltage, and GTHost, among others.

The letter urges the EU to act for the benefit of society as a whole, given that piracy also erodes tax revenues that fund public services and poses a real risk to consumers, as unauthorized platforms often expose users to malware, data theft, and inappropriate content, frequently lacking any child protection or safety measures.