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A major IPTV crackdown in Sweden has not only taken down a multi-million dollar reseller; it has also exposed the identities of nearly 5,000 subscribers. While these IPTV users aren't currently facing charges, a looming law change in July 2026 could soon turn these types of 'customer lists' into evidence for copyright infringement fines.
Originally the home of The Pirate Bay, Sweden has a long and well-documented history when it comes to online piracy.
As in other countries, however, many Swedish pirates have made the switch from relatively cumbersome torrents to on-demand streaming. That includes pirate IPTV services.
According to recent estimates, some 700,000 Swedish households have access to illegal IPTV services. These low-cost subscriptions are substantially cheaper than those offered by legitimate streaming services, but they nonetheless bring in serious revenue for the operators.
To curb the IPTV problem, Sweden has convicted operators and issued blocking orders. In addition, the Government plans to update local law to make it possible to issue fines to IPTV subscribers, effectively outlawing the purchase of these subscriptions.
New IPTV Crackdown
These potential fines are relevant again after Swedish authorities recently toppled the high-profile IPTV operation Nordicplay. As reported by Expressen, the prosecution has charged a 43-year-old man and a 55-year-old associate with gross accounting fraud.
The younger man is the main suspect, and he reportedly earned an estimated 35 million Swedish Kronor (approx. $3.8 million USD) in revenue. These IPTV payments came in through several companies, which acted as a front to disguise the operation.
Many of these payments came in through the Swedish mobile payment system Swish, as shown below. Swish is tied directly to a personal identity number, which likely explains why the subscribers could be accurately identified.
Some payments (screenshot via Expressen)
The men, who both deny any wrongdoing, are not being prosecuted for copyright-related crimes, but for fraud. According to the prosecution, they failed to report the proceeds for tax purposes.
The 43-year-old, who was previously convicted of fraud, was a relatively large reseller of Nordic One, which reportedly serves half of the Swedish IPTV market. And indeed, with many thousands of subscribers, the size of the operation was substantial.
4,886 Subscribers
When investigators searched the computer and phone of the main suspect, they found a list of more than 20,000 contact details. After follow-up investigations, 4,886 of these could be linked to payments.
These subscribers are not being prosecuted, but Sara Lindbäck of the local anti-piracy outfit Rights Alliance, suggests that the police could reach out to these subscribers to send a warning.
“If the police would inform them that ‘Hi, your customer information is found in a criminal investigation,’ I think people might become a little more aware,” Lindbäck told Expressen.
This type of outreach would not be unprecedented. Previously, similar warnings went out to IPTV customers in the UK.
In the near future, however, Sweden could have an even stronger deterrent. As announced last September by Minister of Culture, Parisa Liljestrand, new legislation aims to make it possible to fine IPTV subscribers.
This updated legislation explicitly outlaws the consumption/viewing of pirate IPTV services, which is largely seen as a legal grey area now. If approved, this proposal will go into effect on July 1, 2026.
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