Italy and France tighten real‑time crackdown on illegal sports streaming

Italy’s communications regulator Agcom has intensified its fight against audiovisual piracy by deploying the automated ‘Piracy Shield’ system. In the past year the platform has blocked more than 100,000 illegal sites and issued fines of up to €5,000 to thousands of users, with 2,769 penalties recorded in June alone. The system, enabled by law 93/2023, forwards data from blocked streams directly to prosecutors, allowing rapid investigations into organized piracy networks.

France’s media regulator ARCOM has adopted a similar real‑time blocking mechanism under the new sports law approved on 21 July. The legislation grants ARCOM authority to issue automatic orders to internet providers, bypassing the previous court‑based procedure, and extends the right to request blocks to foreign rights holders such as La Liga and the Premier League. French officials cite Italy’s Piracy Shield as a model for the new approach, which aims to increase the number of illegal streaming sites taken down during live sports events.