James Paul 
It is not a secret for anyone, it is strictly prohibited to use illegal streaming sites or download hacked content in France. That said, the risks involved are not necessarily always very clear. Here is what the right on this subject says.
The graduated response always applies in France
As the magazine recalls 60 million consumersthe Arcom, in charge of the anti-pirate control in the country, uses the graduated response system. It all starts with a warning transmitted to the home of the fraudster, followed, if it is recurrent, from the transmission of his file to justice.
According to our colleagues, who answered the question of a reader whose son was caught in the bag: “In the event of a recurrence, you receive a second recommendation within 6 months, then a letter submitted against signature within 12 months” noting the facts of negligence characterized “, facts likely for criminal proceedings. »»
The risk incurred is therefore a fine of maximum 1500 euros for personal use. In the event of a large -scale violation, the sanctions are much more severe with fines of up to 300,000 euros and even three years’ imprisonment for more serious cases.
What about IPTV Pirates?
Regarding the more specific subject of illegal IPTVs, their use in France is qualified as a counterfeit according to article 321-1 of the penal code, exposing users to severe sanctions: up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros.
However, in practice, the authorities favor awareness and mainly target suppliers of these pirate services. It was in Italy that this idea was applied on a large scale. On LinkedIn, Massimiliano Capitanio, the director of AGCOM, the transalpine telecommunications regulatory authority warned last year:
Perhaps it is not yet clear that fines of 150 to 5,000 euros will soon arrive, and that, like all fines, is a step that we would like to avoid, but which has become necessary, in particular because those who make illegal business make it believe in poorly suspicious users that they risk nothing.
In any case, Arch intensifies its efforts by blocking illegal sites and plans a graduated response, with progressive fines for recurrents.
In addition, technical risks are not negligible: these services can compromise the security of devices via malicious software or collect sensitive data. Despite the financial attraction of these offers, their use supports an illegal system and exposes to civil and criminal proceedings, although applied sanctions are still rare for users. More information on this subject in our previous article here.
By: opera
Karl Rock