A man from the north-west has been arrested in connection with “significant” piracy offences related to a Kodi addon.
As has been explained innumerable times over the past couple of years, Kodi is a free and completely legal entertainment hub that can be accessed on a wide variety of devices, including smartphones, computers and media players. The Amazon Fire TV Stick is an especially popular choice, because it’s cheap and really easy to set up and use.
Related: Is Kodi legal?
However, you can also use Kodi to stream TV shows, films and live sports for free, with the aid of third-party created Kodi addons. Such addons are designed to help users break the law and, as such, they’re illegal.
”Today, officers from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (Covert Development and Disruption Team) working with FACT arrested a 40 year old man in Winsford in connection with creating and maintaining a Kodi ‘add-on’ directly linked to the supply of illegal online streams,” the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) announced earlier this month (via TorrentFreak).
“The scale of the offending was significant and affected broadcasters and rights owners in the UK and worldwide. Police searched an address, seized evidence, and interviewed the suspect [who] has … been released on police bail pending investigation.
“The investigation followed a referral from FACT, the UK’s leading cyber investigations organisation.”
The name of the addon at the heart of the case hasn’t been revealed, but TorrentFreak has reported that a popular, piracy-configured addon called Supremacy went down on the same day that the arrest was made (June 13).
Related: Best VPN
While it’s tempting to link the two events, we cannot do so with any form of certainty until FACT or the NWROCU announce more details. The NWROCU’s announcement adds that its investigation is ongoing.
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Editorial independence
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.
