Following the shutdown of 15 illegal Web sites just a week earlier, the Dutch anti-piracy agency BREIN took another 24 sites out of service.
The anti-piracy operation targeted, among other things, three clusters of IPTV services involving nine domains that were made inaccessible following a check by SIDN (the Dutch Internet Domain Registration Foundation) when it became apparent that the registration details were presumably incorrect. In addition, 15 websites selling illegal IPTV subscriptions were directly dealt with via the hosting provider.
“It is sometimes a ‘Whack-a-Mole’ game, but consistently thwarting illegal offerings is definitely paying off,” said BREIN Director Bastiaan van Ramshorst. “Should a service switch to an uncooperative ‘bulletproof’ host abroad, there always remains the option to demand the blocking of the service via Dutch internet providers.”
Much of BREIN’s enforcement starts with tips from its members, but technology plays an increasingly large role. Using automated systems, BREIN systematically scans the internet and the hosting landscape for infringing content, ranging from IPTV to the illegal offering of e-books, music, games, etc. These ‘batch actions’, in which multiple sites go offline simultaneously, are often the direct result of automated detection.
Why it matters
When providers of illegal IPTV subscriptions attempt to remain anonymous by providing false information, the Dutch Internet Domain Registration Foundation (SIDN) verification procedure offers a solution. If the registrant does not provide the correct details within 3 working days of a request, SIDN can make the domain inaccessible.
Even when a website has no direct Dutch connection via the domain name but is hosted in the Netherlands, BREIN can intervene effectively. BREIN can then request the hosting provider to terminate the illegal service. Incidentally, BREIN can also make such requests (whether or not via sister organizations) if a website is hosted abroad. The internationally recognized Trusted Flagger status under the European Digital Services Act helps in this regard.
Further reading
24 illegal IPTV websites offline. Press release. March 19, 2026. BREIN
Netherlands: 15 illegal IPTV Web sites offline after BREIN report. Article. March 2, 2026. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
Trusted flaggers under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Landing page. Accessed March 26, 2026. European Commission > Digital Services Act > Cooperation Framework
