The Italian Communications Authority (Agcom) took down 3,750 illegal streaming channels during the two weeks of Wimbledon 2026, a signal that enforcement against audiovisual piracy is intensifying across Italy—and that residents who stream illegally now face fines as high as €5,000 and possible civil lawsuits from rights holders.
Why This Matters:
• €5,000 maximum fine per individual caught streaming pirated sports, films, or series—enforceable under Law 93/2023.
• 3,390 domain names and 360 IP addresses blocked during Wimbledon alone, using the PiracyShield automated platform.
• The Guardia di Finanza has already sanctioned hundreds and is tracking thousands more users nationwide.
The Scale of Enforcement
Commissioner Massimiliano Capitanio of Agcom confirmed the crackdown coincided with the Wimbledon tournament, which Italy's Jannik Sinner won to claim his fifth Grand Slam title. The surge in viewership—from tennis fans and casual audiences alike—also meant a surge in rights violations. Agcom's PiracyShield system, which allows rights holders to flag illegal streams and trigger automated takedowns within 30 minutes, was deployed continuously throughout the tournament.
The commissioner emphasized that 3,750 blocks were recorded "according to data communicated by rights holders," breaking down to 3,390 Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN) and 360 IP addresses. These numbers illustrate the system's velocity: once a pirate stream is detected, internet service providers (ISPs) in Italy are legally obliged to sever access within half an hour, often before a match even reaches the second set.
"This is ongoing, event-by-event work," Capitanio said in a public statement. "The fight against piracy does not end with a single intervention; it requires continuity, rapid response, and increasingly effective tools."
What This Means for Residents
If you live in Italy and have been streaming sports, films, or TV shows via illegal IPTV subscriptions—commonly known as "pezzotto"—you are now at material risk of sanction. As of May 22, the Guardia di Finanza had already identified 1,000 users for penalties up to €5,000. Earlier, on February 20, 120 customers across 60 provinces were fined between €154 and €5,000. By mid-July, the financial police confirmed that "thousands of users" are under investigation nationwide.
The legal basis is Law 93/2023, which granted Agcom expanded powers to issue dynamic injunctions and extended PiracyShield coverage to all live audiovisual content—not just sport. The platform went live on February 1, 2024, and has since disabled more than 65,000 FQDNs and approximately 14,000 IP addresses linked to pirate streams.
For households, the practical consequence is simple: using a pirate IPTV box or streaming from unlicensed websites is no longer low-risk. Authorities can cross-reference subscriber data, payment records, and network logs. Once flagged, you receive a formal notice and the fine follows. In some cases, rights holders—broadcasters who paid for exclusive distribution—have pursued civil damages on top of the administrative penalty, seeking compensation that can reach tens of thousands of euros.
How the System Works
PiracyShield is hosted on Microsoft Azure and operates through a three-step loop:
Rights holders accredit themselves on the APS portal, then submit IP addresses or domain names they believe are distributing their content without authorization.
Agcom issues a cautionary order, which the platform processes automatically.
ISPs execute the block within 30 minutes, cutting off DNS resolution or routing for the flagged address.
The system prioritizes speed over judicial pre-review, which is also why it has sparked controversy. Because many IP addresses serve thousands of legitimate websites—especially on shared hosting or content-delivery networks—critics warn of "overblocking," where legal services are collaterally shut down alongside pirate streams.
Controversy and the Cloudflare Case
In January 2026, Agcom fined Cloudflare Inc. more than €14 M for allegedly failing to comply with PiracyShield takedown orders. Cloudflare, a US-based infrastructure provider that routes a significant share of global internet traffic, called the penalty an "authoritarian excess" and filed an appeal on March 8, arguing that the sanction violates the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates proportionality and procedural safeguards before restricting content.
Cloudflare also pointed out that the fine was calculated on its global revenue rather than Italian turnover, inflating the penalty nearly 100-fold beyond the statutory cap of approximately €140,000. Within Agcom itself, dissent emerged: Commissioner Elisa Giomi questioned whether PiracyShield's notices are sufficiently accurate and warned against "populist fanaticism and narratives capable of emotionally mobilizing public opinion but also misleading through outright hallucinations."
The European Commission has echoed similar concerns, noting the absence of judicial oversight and the risk of disproportionate collateral damage to lawful services.
Economic Impact: €2.3 B in Lost Revenue
Enforcement is ramping up because the economic toll remains severe. According to a FAPAV/Ipsos Doxa survey released in June 2026, piracy cost the Italian economy an estimated €2.3 B in lost revenue during 2025, translating to:
• €902 M in GDP loss.
• €408 M in forgone tax receipts.
• Approximately 11,100 lost or foregone jobs in production, distribution, and associated industries.
For live sport specifically, the damage reached €419 M, up 47% over two years. Although the overall piracy rate dropped to 37% of the population—about 20 M people, down 4 percentage points year-on-year—those who continue to pirate are doing so more frequently. Illegal IPTV subscriptions still serve more than 3 M active subscribers, and sports remains a high-value target for organized pirate operations.
Shifting Public Perception
Public awareness of the anti-piracy law has climbed to 71% of Italian adults, with 62% considering it effective. The deterrent effect is measurable: over 1 M Italians have abandoned piracy in the past two years, particularly in the 10–14 age bracket, where incidence fell to historic lows. 60% of adults now view piracy as a serious offense warranting legal action.
Yet only 41% recognize a link to organized crime, even though rights-holder associations and law enforcement emphasize that pirate IPTV networks often fund parallel illegal enterprises. Meanwhile, 36% of adults who used pirate streams reported malware infections, 33% experienced personal-data theft, and 25% had financial credentials compromised—with average per-capita losses estimated at €1,204 when factoring in identity fraud and account takeovers.
What Comes Next
Agcom has signaled that enforcement will continue "event after event," covering not only marquee tournaments like Wimbledon but also domestic football, Formula 1, concerts, and premium series releases. The combination of automated blocking, financial police sanctions, and civil liability is designed to make piracy materially riskier than subscribing to a legitimate service—which for many sports packages in Italy costs between €20 and €40 per month, roughly equivalent to two pizzas in a city centre.
For residents weighing whether to renew a "pezzotto" subscription, the calculus has changed: a €5,000 fine is more than eight years' worth of legal streaming fees, and that does not include potential civil damages or the headache of identity theft. As PiracyShield expands its database and the Guardia di Finanza cross-references payment processors, the window for low-consequence piracy is closing fast.
