Amazon has decided to crack down on the sale of “Kodi-like streamers”, according to a new report.
According to the Inquirer, Amazon is “drawing a line” under the sale of devices that promote or enable unauthorised access to copyrighted content. Although there doesn’t appear to be an official announcement from Amazon, there is a telling section in the restricted products section of Amazon’s selling guidelines page.
Here’s Amazon’s official line on the matter: “Products offered for sale on Amazon should not promote, suggest the facilitation of, or actively enable the infringement of or unauthorized access to digital media or other protected content. Any streaming media player or other device that violates this policy is prohibited from sale on Amazon.”
The online retail giant continues: “It is your responsibility to source and sell products that do not promote, promise the facilitation of, or actively enable the infringement of or unauthorized access to digital media or other protected content. If you sell these products, we may immediately suspend or terminate your selling privileges and destroy inventory in our fulfillment centers without reimbursement.”
Related: how to install Kodi on Fire Stick
“In addition, if we determine that your account has been used to engage in fraud or other illegal activity, remittances and payments may be withheld or forfeited,” Amazon adds.
Amazon says it may ‘destroy’ stock that violates policy
The move appears to be in response to the growing uptake of devices designed to circumvent copyright restrictions. Some of you will be familiar with Kodi, which is the name for an open-source software that runs on set-top streamers. Kodi boxes aren’t technically illegal to own, but some enterprising retailers are selling Kodi boxes loaded with software that allows users to stream copyrighted content like movies and TV shows for free.
As a result, there’s been a recent crackdown on the sale of such boxes in the UK. In fact, we’ve even seen a man from Teesside prosecuted and hit with a £250,000 fine for selling “fully-loaded” Kodi boxes to pubs and clubs. The man sold these boxes for around £1,000 each, sparking a huge debate over the legality of Kodi. The consensus appears to be that while Kodi boxes aren’t illegal, certain uses of them are.
We’ve contacted Amazon for comment on this story, and will update this article with any response.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.