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Sale of Android boxes To Obtain "Free TV" Is Now Illegal In Canada.

256K views 806 replies 78 participants last post by  Brontosaurus 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
#294 ·
Must be nice to live in a fact-free world. https://torrentfreak.com/europe-has-the-highest-online-piracy-rates-by-far-160801/

A comparison of the top 50 countries with the most piracy traffic shows that Europe in particular has a persistent piracy problem. In fact, all of the 10 countries with the highest online piracy rates are in Europe.

Latvia comes out on top with a massive 46% of the Internet users visiting pirate sites, followed by Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, Spain and Greece. The top 10 piracy havens is completed by Serbia, Ireland, Romania and Sweden.
I also invite you to compare the U.K.'s and Canada's positions on that list.
 
#295 · (Edited)
Canada has been on American piracy list for a while now.

https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-labels-switzerland-an-internet-piracy-haven-160428/

https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-labels-canada-a-piracy-haven-120430/

I never said that Canada is the only Piracy Haven, nevertheless it is on top of the piracy list.

You should read the article again since it show piracy list of top 50 countries. The list is in reverse order so Canada is way ahead of UK. It is even ahead of Russia.

https://torrentfreak.com/europe-has-the-highest-online-piracy-rates-by-far-160801/
 
#298 ·
For ever "illegal" site you take down there's 1 or more replacing it. It just like the pot dispensaries here in Ottawa you shut one down 2 or 3 more pop up the next day, even the same one the police busted, a day or so later its up and running again,you'll never stop them, They'll keep on coming and coming like there's no tomorrow.

They'll just go further underground and location where the police can't get them.

As for the police they really could care less, if not then they would bang on every single person who had a Dish Network Or Direct TV dish on there house to arrest then for breaking the law. And with Android Boxes its even hard to say who's has one, because you can't go by how much you down load on your TV or computer because that could be that your down loading legaL stuff and if the police bang on your because your priovider said your download is extrenely high and your not doing anything ilegal the police can be sued for false accusations.
 
#299 ·
They do not have to shut down the sites but block the links which is pretty easy. Once Canadian courts will authorize that it will be a game changer. Currently the case is in front of the courts.

I agree the police does not care about dish network but if your neighbour called them that you are subscribing to
dish network then they would have no choice but come to your house to investigate and prosecute if it is true.

When it comes to illegal downloads then there are ways to detect if download is legal or not but in Canada (the Piracy Haven) the penalties are limited by the courts and for the first offenders are about $100 and maximum fines are $5000 so it is not worth it for content producers to bother for now.
 
#300 ·
Well I can't really comment on how they can find out what your streaming or downloading,I'm not that knowledgeable in this area.

As for the links all the "Pirated sites" will do is just keep changing the link IP Address to their sites to get the info out.

Like I said you take one out there will be another to take it place.

People just really don't care about copy right or piracy activity. If you have individuals doing 'illegal activity like Driving & Texting/Drinking/Drug High and other stuff ' which some are way worst then Pirating, Pirating is nothing compared to that.

People just don't care and are willing to "Roll the Dice" as it where and take their chances.

Not saying its right what there doing, just saying some individuals simply just don't care.
 
#303 ·
Well. I can strike another legitimate cable sub almost. A coworker was telling me just yesterday that he’s seen the light. He bought a box last week, and was telling me how wonderful it is. He can literally watch anything. He’s so happy. He cut down his cable to absolutely nothing but basic. He was so impressed that he went back and bought another box for his son. I said no thanks.
 
#305 · (Edited)
I guess it is true what they say "The Truth Always Hurts" but I disagree, I am not parroting, it just happens that I have the same opinion.
It must be shocking to some people that Canada is ahead of piracy King Russia on the piracy list.

It is like Blackloz is saying people are getting these boxes and it is the talk of the day at work. Piracy has become a cool thing, no regards at all for Canadian job loses in the entertainment industry, not to mention that it is immoral and illegal.
 
#306 ·
Exactly. My coworker was bragging about being able to watch a live stream of ESPN showing a college football game that he was never able to see before. Once people have these boxes they are very much encouraged. Now are they ignorant and just don’t care about the legality or are they really that naive.
 
#307 ·
What one's friends or coworkers say might be interesting as a story but it's just that: anecdotal. Moreover, the source of articles claiming Canada is a piracy haven need to be examined. Is the source biased? an advocate for vested interests? reflecting different cultural values?

Here's a recent assessment from one of Canada's leading recognized experts on digital copyright, Michael Geist:

Globeinvestor.com: Why Canada is a piracy haven no more

What's interesting from this expert is the apparent abuse employed by overzealous digital rights holders, a form of appeal to fear, where Canadians are subjected to unwarranted payment demands by foreign interests.

One can hold any opinion one likes but rational discussions depend on facts and recognized systems of logic. As the current CNN PSA says, calling an apple a banana, no matter how often, doesn't change the fact the fruit is an apple.

Calling Canada a piracy haven, and repeating it over and over despite more compelling evidence to the contrary, doesn't make Canada, in fact, a pirate haven.
 
#308 ·
It's a two edged sword. On the one side there are people who want to watch programming they like, whenever they like and how they like. On the other side there are content owners who want to restrict access to programming in order to increase profits, fill their stadium or just plane don't want certain people to see it (AKA censorship for whatever reason.)

The problem is that technology is changing the way programming can be accessed and content owners are not keeping up or are instituting unrealistic restrictions in order to prop up old business models. I'm not saying which is right or making excuses, just observing. Calling countries or their citizens names does nothing but inflame the issue and leaves us further from a solution.
 
#309 ·
This who;le issue with "Pirating" will never end, even if you allow US networks in you'll still have individuals Pirating. Why

Free content NO $$$ to shell out.

You have others say Hey with these boxes I can Ethnic Channels not offered here, I can get channels like BBC channels,iTV Channels,France 0-5 channel;s, Sky set of networks, tons of internet channels and so on.

That's what attracts individuals tothese boxes along with other features the boxes offer.

I don't know what the % of users is in Canada is for these is, but out of POP of 35 Million I can't see it being more then a million? I could be wrong on the figure though.

Like said before some individuals just simply don't care and could care less about content rules,copy rights and other stuff related to this issue.

Whether you think its right or wrong that's up to each individual to decideon their own, but I don't see this really being stopped.

Yes "stealing" these content is more or less illegal and if you censor or block these sites by providers, who's to say later on the providers start blocking other sites that are not illegal but they simply don't want in this caser Canadians to view.

This whole issue with Android Boxes boils down to Censorship vs right of individuals freedom?

Not saying that one side is right or wrong,just saying be careful for what you wish for because you may end up loosing more then you bargain for and the country you live in starts to be more Dictatorial" rather then a democraticy?

Just a view.
 
#310 ·
I was just in the United States of America for over a week. One thing I noticed, while down there, Almost No one talks about Illegal Android Boxes, and no one I met had or was selling them. I even purposely Asked about them to individuals and people heard of them but they get all the channels they want anyway, and only realize that people who talk about android boxes are to get TV channels not offered in the USA from places like India, Afganistan, Tajikistan, middle east, etc. I did visit some friends and family and when I went to their house, I watched practically almost the same TV shows that I watched here in Canada. The only difference I was told by my cousin, is she gets a "Very Good Price" for her Cable Package, while in Canada a similar cable package will no doubtingly cost a lot more up here. Every hotel I stayed at in the USA offered premium cable channels such as HBO, sports, news, and big networks, which is quite the opposite of hotels in Canada I've stayed in. I think its a combination of multiple things which makes Canada a bigger target for those illegal and immoral android boxes. I would like to just share my observation.
 
#316 ·
#312 ·
Paolo said:
I was just in the United States of America for over a week. One thing I noticed, while down there, Almost No one talks about Illegal Android Boxes, and no one I met had or was selling them. I even purposely Asked about them to individuals and people heard of them but they get all the channels they want anyway, and only realize that people who talk about android boxes are to get TV channels not offered in the USA from places like India, Afganistan, Tajikistan, middle east, etc. I did visit some friends and family and when I went to their house, I watched practically almost the same TV shows that I watched here in Canada. The only difference I was told by my cousin, is she gets a "Very Good Price" for her Cable Package, while in Canada a similar cable package will no doubtingly cost a lot more up here. Every hotel I stayed at in the USA offered premium cable channels such as HBO, sports, news, and big networks, which is quite the opposite of hotels in Canada I've stayed in. I think its a combination of multiple things which makes Canada a bigger target for those illegal and immoral android boxes. I would like to just share my observation.
Nailed it. And the answer to that question is Bell.
 
#313 ·
It wasn't a question but thanks. I did not nail it, I just visited another country/market and can tell that their telecommunications industry is WAY different than ours, We WANT their technology/content, but We do not have the population and competition needed to sustain, they HAVE the population, they HAVE the competition, so maybe we won't see an answer until Canada gets a bigger population? sometimes its possible to WANT something and make a big stink about it but also be smart enough to know its not physically possible to obtain but we know that its never going to be possible but make a huge stink and rant over and over that we want it. sounds familiar? yeah THAT is the answer, yes the answer sucks but its the answer
 
#315 ·
There are a lot of factors but I suspect the biggest one is the amount of competition in the US at the retail level. If you look at industries there that have similar levels of competition, such as internet, they have similar issues with price and service. The variety of OTA and OTT services in the US is probably putting pressure on traditional BDUs. In addition, the US has 2 very good satellite services vs the lackluster satellite BDUs in Canada that are owned by telecom and cable companies.
 
#317 ·
That's not the way that works. Just because people are not spending money on cable TV, doesn't mean you can assume they're pocketing that money. They might be spending it all on booze and cigarettes instead, and the government might be collecting even more revenue as a result. We don't know.

As long as the illegal IPTV services are not collecting un-taxed subscription fees from subscribers, there is no lost tax revenue.
 
#318 ·
That we will never know, nevertheless the loss could be over 100 millions dollars in Canada.
I would not mention cigarettes since there is a big market for illegally sold cigarettes as well and government has said many times that there is a huge loss of revenue due to contraband tobacco sales.
 
#320 ·
That we will never know, nevertheless the loss could be over 100 millions dollars in Canada.
It also could be that the added stress of a monthly cable bill makes people much more likely to murder their neighbours. I mean, if we're going to speculate wildly based on zero evidence...

By far the more likely scenario is that people are taking the money they're not spending on cable, and buying another consumer product or service taxed at the exact same rate, and neighbourly murders are unrelated to cable bills. There are lots of good reasons why piracy is a net negative, you don't need to make up fictional ones.
 
#319 ·
Here is another article based on the Sandvine study. Pirate TV services are taking a bite out of cable company revenue

The "phantom bandwidth problem" is an interesting issue. People with internet data use in the terrabytes might want to take note. It also suggests that damages claimed by copyright owners may be inflated because nobody is actually watching the content. It's kind of like cable subscribers being charged for programming on channels they are forced to subscribe to but never watch. It's just more evidence that broadcaster and copyright owner overcharging and exaggerated claims may be part of the perceived problem.

https://torrentfreak.com/iptv-piracy...rrents-171101/ said:
According to Sandvine, roughly 95% of the IPTV subscriptions run off custom set-top boxes. Kodi-powered devices and Roku boxes follow at a respectable distance with 3% and 2% of the market, respectively.
Maybe modified KODI boxes are a Canadian phenomenon or just not a significant issue anymore. Targeting them may have missed the mark as far as reducing TV piracy is concerned.

bev fan said:
buttleged cigarettes
That may be one way to smuggle cigarettes but I wouldn't want to smoke them. :eek:
 
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