Portugal’s Association of Electronic Communications Operators (APRITEL) marked 2025’s World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 with a call on Portuguese regulators to “reflect on the impact of illegal consumption of content in a digital context, which harms the creative industries, the economy and the safety of citizens,” and take action against piracy.
According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), about 288,000 homes in Portugal improperly access paid digital and audiovisual services, such as illegal IPTV, per month.
Sports content leads improper consumption: 48% in the EU and 54% in Portugal. Streaming is the most used medium (95% of cases). It is no coincidence that the Judicial Police recently launched an awareness campaign aimed at consumers, to which APRITEL joined, entitled “It’s not just a game. It’s a crime” – and it really is. Just like it’s not just a video game, a movie or a series. They are crimes.
Piracy consumption is common
Data from Marktest’s BStream Streaming Barometer measurement platform collected between September and December 2024 and released in February 2025 found that 52.1% of consumers ages 15 and above in Portugal access audiovisual content through streaming platforms.
EUIPO estimated that one million Portuguese have already consumed pirated content, with a higher incidence among young people: 34% of people between 15 and 24 years old transmit or consume piracy, the fourth highest rate in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom.
Alarming consequences
According to APRITEL, piracy represents a potential loss of 250 million euros/year for the national economy, according to Government data (updated in the light of inflation) and constitutes a drop in tax revenue (VAT and IRC) of 78 million. The audiovisual industry is penalized by 150 million/year and the media sector sees its crisis aggravated. The value chain of creative industries is hard affected – authors, artists, producers, directors, distributors and operators are all harmed. This phenomenon 288,000 homes in Portugal improperly access paid digital and audiovisual services and reduces the capacity for cultural and sports production in the country.
Targets for malware
Those who access pirated websites or applications are especially exposed: according to a study by the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance, 46% of people are the target of malware and 44% suffer identity theft; according to the Digital Citizens Alliance, 72% of those who make card payments on these platforms end up victims of bank fraud. In turn, 57% of illegal IPTV apps contain viruses and malware, as attested by the aforementioned report of the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance.
Calls to step up the fight
Despite the seriousness of the problem, the widespread perception is that the fight against piracy is slow and ineffective – and continues to adopt the principle that what is illegal offline should be illegal online. Audiovisual piracy is a crime and, in the fight against crime, it is essential that no one is left out, neither online service providers (ISP) nor virtual private networks (VPNs).
It is urgent to reformulate the Portuguese legislative building and current practices by the competent authorities, based on four fundamental points:
- To make users aware of the illegality and risks of piracy;
- To systematically identify and penalize the dissemination and exploitation of illegal content via streaming/IPTV platforms;
- Notify and warn consumers as a first dissuasive measure, and
- Apply simple and rapid financial sanctions to repeat users.
Progress in other countries
Several European countries – Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Denmark and Italy – have already implemented effective systems, with different modeling, of “Cease & Desist“, which consists of formal consumer alerts, supervised by competent authorities. In Portugal, this function would fall to the General Inspectorate of Cultural Activities (IGAC), never to electronic communications operators, as one mistakenly wants to believe. The data show that illegal per capita consumption is significantly lower in countries that have adopted these tools. Why don’t we move forward here too?
No DSA Trusted Flaggers in Portugal
At the same time, and in the opposite direction to what happens in several EU countries, Portugal remains without any entity recognized as a trusted flagger, that is, as an interlocutor scrutinized by the national coordinator and, as such, accredited and reliable, which could make the reaction and intervention of the platforms more expeditious in case of dissemination of illegal content. Under the Digital Services Act, the designation of trusted flaggers is the responsibility of ANACOM, which, despite the various requests, has not yet attributed this status to any body.
Further reading
Piracy: Improve the law, stop crime and protect people. Press release. April 2025. by Pedro Mota Soares. APRITEL (Assocao dos Operatores de Comunicacioes Electronicas)
Use of streaming platforms reaches a new high in Portugal. Press release. February 4, 2025. Marktest Group
Why it matters
APRITEL concluded that “in an economy increasingly based on digital, the protection of intellectual property, the sustainability of creative industries, the preservation of thousands of jobs and the security of our accounts and devices are not negligible issues. They demand a concerted strategy and firm actions from everyone. Also in this fight, APRITEL and the electronic communications sector (contribute toward having) adequate legislation and collaborat(e) with the authorities in the detection of illegal activities and in the immediate execution of authorized requests to put an end to such practices.”
The negative aspects spill over the economic dimension. Europol and Interpol have shown that there are strong links between digital piracy and organized crime networks, including scams, money laundering and even terrorism. This is beyond the immediate cyber risk that users incur. On average, it only takes 71 seconds for, through illegal streaming, the equipment used to be compromised with malware.
