AAPA urges EC live piracy action
July 9, 2026

By Colin Mann



Trade body the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) has submitted its recommendations to the European Commission’s copyright reform process, calling for urgent legislative action to tackle the growing threat of live piracy across Europe.

It suggests the reality is stark, asserting: “Live piracy is growing and causing enormous harm to the legitimate industry as well as the safety of online users”.


Live piracy is also increasingly being facilitated by offshore, non-compliant hosting providers – all of which operate beyond the reach of effective enforcement, but that use European internet infrastructure to distribute not only illegal content, but a huge range of cyber and security threats to users.

According to AAPA, it is not just a copyright issue, but a challenge to Europe’s digital security, safety and sovereignty. AAPA is urging the Commission to act. It should introduce:

• A clear legal requirement for legitimate hosting providers to remove pirated live content immediately, and prevent it from being re-hosted.

• A regulatory framework to identify persistent non-compliant offshore hosting providers that facilitate criminal behaviour and bar them from continuing to benefit from European internet infrastructure.

• A harmonised European framework for dynamic live blocking, ensuring rights holders have effective tools to protect live events where other measures fail.

It says that these are practical and proportionate measures that reflect the way live piracy operates today, noting: “It will mean stronger protection for Europe’s creative and sports sectors, and will reinforce the resilience and integrity of Europe’s digital ecosystem”.

AAPA looks forward to working with the European Commission and stakeholders across the digital ecosystem to deliver an effective legislative framework that meets the scale and urgency of this challenge.