Singaporean ISPs Ordered to Block Pirated Content Apps

The Singapore High Court has ruled that local ISPs must block access to illegal apps that allow users to access pirated content.

These apps are preloaded onto so-called illicit streaming devices (ISDs)—android set-top boxes that serve as gateways to sites streaming pirated content.

Louis Boswell, CEO of AVIA, commented, “AVIA welcomes the court’s decision to block access to such popular ISD applications. We have always maintained that illicit streaming devices are illegal in Singapore. The ISD ecosystem is impacting all businesses involved in the production and distribution of legitimate content. Configuring TV boxes in this way allows unauthorized access to TV channels and video-on-demand content with the revenue going into the pockets of criminal syndicates and individuals who benefit from the spoils of such a crime”.

“Singapore has been considered a bastion of Intellectual Property rights across the region, and the court’s decision to block access to popular illegal applications preloaded onto ISDs and sold in Singapore reaffirms this contention,” added Neil Gane, the general manager of AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP). “The content industry will make every effort to prevent and disrupt the illegal feeds of live sports, TV channels and VOD content which are monetized by crime syndicates. Consumers who buy ISDs are not only funding crime groups, but also wasting their money when the channels stop working. ISDs do not come with a ‘service guarantee’, no matter what the seller may claim.”