Sky TV, along with other major streaming and digital television companies, has committed to wiping out widespread subscription fee avoidance by 2026 through the use of advanced data analysis technologies.
Sky has been engaging with the Data Protection Commission, Ireland’s authority overseeing the use and protection of personal data, to explore how information from various sources could be used to combat piracy networks, sellers of illegal streaming devices and their customers, a group believed to include as many as 400,000 households nationwide, reports The Mirror.
The media giant has not disclosed the precise nature of the data it hopes to use, but sources indicate this may involve private investigators gathering intelligence on dodgy box and Firestick users through WhatsApp groups used to distribute such devices. Attention may also be placed on homes with fast broadband connections that do not appear to subscribe to services such as Amazon, Disney, Apple and others.
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Sky’s privacy policy does not reference data collected from WhatsApp groups, but it does confirm that the company carries out “social listening” across social media platforms and online forums. The policy states Sky uses personal data “to prevent and detect fraud and protect or enforce our or any third party’s rights” and “to prevent and detect crime”, reports The Mirror.
Should the Data Commissioners determine that Sky and similar companies can use such data in line with GDPR rules, Sky could rapidly update its terms of use and privacy policies, reports Cork Beo, reports The Mirror.
The Data Commissioners have indicated that it may be possible for Sky to process personal data, provided it strictly complies with the EU’s rigorous GDPR and data protection regulations. Detailed guidance is expected to be published in the near future, reports The Mirror.
It is understood that Sky and other providers are looking to widen their crackdown on the use of illegal streaming devices, a practice that costs the industry tens of millions of euro each year in Ireland through pirated subscriptions.
So far, individual users and households have not been targeted. Instead, Gardaí have focused their efforts on large-scale commercial operators and organised criminal groups running illegal streaming services, reports The Mirror.
Pubs and large venues that use these devices to access services such as Sky Sports are frequently brought before the courts.
Industry sources believe the Data Protection Commission will outline how Sky and other firms can lawfully use personal data at some point in the New Year. Such a ruling could prove a ‘game-changer’ in the growing fight against illegal streaming, reports The Mirror.
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