A simple “tweak in the law” would see dodgy box users issued with fines “like penalty points,” a technology journalist has explained.
An estimated one in five households in Ireland own a dodgy box and - although technically illegal - it is not top of An Garda Síochána’s list of priorities.
However, that might soon be about to change; Italy has introduced a system of fines for dodgy box users and Irish Independent journalist Adrian Weckler said it could soon be replicated across Europe.
“When the police raid a distributor or a seller, they check the lists, they see who's subscribing,” he explained on Newstalk Breakfast.
“And then those people, after further process, essentially end up getting a fine in the post - a little bit like penalty points that we get here.
“So, it doesn't require the kind of Garda prosecution, bringing someone to court like it does in Ireland at the moment, which is the reason why Guards don't go after dodgy box users, even though it's illegal in Ireland to use them.”
A TV remote control. Picture by: Allard Schager / Alamy.com.Mr Weckler added that the Government will need to “tweak the law” before that can happen. So, the big question is - do TDs and Senators want to crack down on dodgy box users?
“It's not apparent really that they do,” he said.
“We ran a poll in the Sunday Independent in July that suggested that people don't really consider this to be a crime.
“Two-thirds of people who we asked said that people who use dodgy boxes shouldn't be fined or prosecuted in any way - and at least one in five people in Ireland have one.”
Industry view on dodgy boxes
Whatever the views of the public, the Government can expect sustained lobbying on the issue from the entertainment industry, who are haemorrhaging millions in revenue.
“Let's say one in five households, which is quite a lot of income foregone,” Mr Weckler said.
“On the other hand, [the likes of] Netflix, Disney, Apple TV, Paramount - they're taking more of the pie as well.
“Which means that the guys in the middle - Sky, Virgin, whoever it is - they're getting squeezed out.”
Main image: A man sitting on a sofa. Picture by: Alamy.com.
