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LALIGA and 36 major companies and organizations from Europe’s sports and audiovisual industries have called on the European Commission to take stronger legislative action against online piracy, warning that current voluntary measures are failing to protect rights holders.
In a joint letter addressed to Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty and Security, and Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Youth, Culture and Sport, the signatories urged the EU to adopt binding, result-driven laws to tackle the growing threat of illegal streaming.
The coalition argued that existing legal tools have not kept pace with the speed and sophistication of pirate networks. They urged the Commission to move beyond voluntary frameworks and enforce rules requiring intermediaries hosting illegal content to remove live pirate streams within 30 minutes of notification, and always before the end of the event.
“Piracy is the greatest threat to sport right now, and no real or effective measures are being taken to combat it,” said Javier Tebas, President of LALIGA. “There is a lot of talk about improvements and change, but no real willingness to act. That must change.”
The letter also calls for live dynamic blocking across all EU member states and for technology intermediaries, including hosting providers, VPNs, CDNs, and app stores, to apply Know Your Business Customer (KYBC) policies to curb anonymous misuse.
In addition, the signatories urged full implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and requested that national digital service coordinators grant “trusted flagger” status to qualified private organizations that report illegal content.
According to data cited in the letter, 81% of illegal live streams detected in Europe in 2024 remained online, while fewer than 3% were removed within 30 minutes. The estimated annual financial losses from piracy exceed €2.2 billion in Italy, €1.8 billion in Germany, and €1.5 billion in France. In Spain, LALIGA clubs alone lose between €600 million and €700 million each year, the report said.
Beyond the economic cost, the coalition warned that piracy undermines tax revenues and exposes consumers to malware, data theft, and harmful content due to a lack of safety and child protection measures on illegal platforms.
LALIGA said it continues to collaborate with major technology intermediaries, including Akamai, Vercel, Scaleway, Worldstream, PureVoltage, and GTHost, to strengthen anti-piracy enforcement.
The signatories urged Brussels to act decisively, saying that only concrete legislative reform can safeguard Europe’s creative industries and ensure a fair digital marketplace.
Featured Image Credit: LALIGA.com, Unsplash / Luciano Oliveira
