Kodi boxes being sold in huge quantities says new piracy report

Huge numbers of illegal set-top boxes are being sold across the UK, according to a new report from piracy watchdogs.

The boxes are usually loaded with software, including Kodi, that allow people to watch copyrighted material such as sports and movies without paying for them.

Importantly, the report says that the boxes can be dangerous as they sometimes contain malware or inappropriate content, reports Mirror.co.uk .

According to the research more than a million of these kinds of boxes have been sold in the UK in the last two years.

Compiled with insights from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the Federation Against Copyright Theft, the Cracking Down on Digital Piracy report specifically mentions Kodi add-ons as a source of piracy.

Often these add-ons have no parental controls or security settings and can pose a risk to users' personal data.

"A quarter of Brits access digital material illegally, and often don’t realise the risks associated with that, for them and their families," said Kieron Sharp, director general at FACT.

"Pirates are not Robin Hood characters; they are criminals who do it to make money through illicit means.

"As a result, the risks are high – inappropriate advertising that could be seen by young children, electrical safety associated with counterfeit parts, and financial cyber crime.”

The report says that social media has helped criminals selling these boxes to achieve a foothold, often flogging their wares online.

This helps them remain anonymous and further puts users at risk.

DCI Pete Radcliffe, head of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit added: “While it may be tempting for people to think they are getting a bargain when streaming illegally, it’s important to remember that there are organised criminals behind it, often associated with other serious crimes.

"Pirating content is not a petty crime; from release groups, to site operators to set-top box wholesalers and distributers, there is an international criminal business model.”

Some online retailers, such as Amazon, are cracking down on illegal set-top boxes sold through its platforms.

Set-top boxes are just like mini computers that plug directly into your TV. Many of them run on the open-source Android OS and allow third-party apps to be installed and used.

One such app, Kodi, lets individuals or organisations host streams - these can either be legitimate or illegal.

Kodi's 'add-ons' allow several different streams to be indexed effectively, giving users a simple interface for finding content to watch. This means it can be difficult to stop all the streams available.

Rights holders could only shut down individual streams, which could be re-established relatively easily, so fighting piracy was like a game of whack-a-mole.

However, new laws mean that copyright owners can go after entire servers and can bring down entire add-ons completely - including all the content they host.