Multichoice is coming after these DStv abusers in South Africa hard

Multimedia group Multichoice has completed another successful raid against DStv pirates in South Africa, arresting suspects in Cape Town for allegedly selling pirated streaming boxes.

The streaming boxes allowed access to the group’s pay-TV content, which is classified as content piracy under the Cybercrimes Act, the Copyright Act and the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act (RICA).

The latest raid was done in conjunction with the Milnerton South African Police Services in Cape Town.

The arrested individuals will appear at Cape Town Magistrates Court on 15 August 2024.

“This latest raid underscores MultiChoice’s determination to dismantle piracy networks and protect the intellectual property of content creators,” Multichoice said.

“Multichoice extends its sincere gratitude to the SAPS detectives for their professionalism and invaluable support in this operation. Their collaboration is crucial in the fight against digital piracy.”

The latest raid marks the fourth major operation by the group to tackle content piracy in South Africa.

In July, the group raided and arrested a suspect in Eldorado Park who had been selling logging credentials and internet streaming pirate devices, which enabled illegal access to the group’s premium content.

Multichoice also conducted two key raids in June.

The first saw a ‘piracy kingpin’ in the Western Cape arrested. The suspect was believed to have managed several pirate customers and resellers of Waka TV, which MultiChoice is actively investigating, along with the thousands of individuals connected to the Waka TV pirate network.

The second June raid, in Johannesburg, saw the arrest of an individual with alleged ties to the illegal sale of internet streaming pirate devices which allowed individuals to access MultiChoice content, violating several legal statutes.

Partners Against Piracy, an Africa-wide multi-stakeholder initiative, is working alongside local governments and prosecutors to actively address the issue of copyright infringement.

The initiative aims to strengthen government agencies through collaboration to facilitate information sharing, enforce IP laws more strongly and combat privacy.

Among these agencies are the Serious Commercial Crime Unit of the Hawks, South African Police Services and the Cybercrime Units in various provinces.

These stakeholders are also collaborating with IP rights holders, such as Multichoice and internet service providers, to cast a wider net for tracking down copyright infringement activities.

Multichoice is primarily going after content pirates based on violations against:

• Section 2 of the Cybercrime Act 19 of 2020 (unauthorized access to content)
• Sections 44 & 45 of the RICA Act 70 of 2002 (possession and sale of an infringing device)
• Section 27 of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 (infringement of a rightsholder’s rights)

Multichoice previously noted that subscribers of illegal pirate services are also in the crosshairs.

“Subscribing to pirate services can expose individuals to significant legal risks. Users may face fines or legal action for accessing content illegally,” it warned.

Read: People across South Africa are cutting their DStv cord