By John Lee.
Major international entertainment and sports organisations have launched a coordinated campaign urging the Iraqi government to shut down illegal streaming platforms that are costing the country’s potential digital media market up to $1 billion annually.
The campaign follows the Iraq Without Piracy Summit held in Baghdad in February, which brought together local, regional, and international media leaders with government officials to address what industry leaders describe as corporate-sponsored piracy undermining Iraq’s digital economy.
According to documents seen by Iraq Business News (IBN), beIN Media Group, a leading broadcaster of exclusive sports and entertainment content across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, issued a formal complaint in March. The company warned that widespread piracy is discouraging international media investment in Iraq and undermining incentives for local content production, resulting in lost employment opportunities and reduced government tax revenues.
In a subsequent letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister and Minister for Communications, LaLiga President Javier Tebas Medrano said that the crisis of piracy in Iraq is, “undermining the country’s global standing, threatening foreign investment, local content production, and tax revenues, and delaying Iraq’s integration into international trade agreements.“
The Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing major studios including Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Prime Video, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal City Studios, Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery cited global piracy statistics showing 185.6 billion visits to movie and TV piracy sites worldwide in 2023.
The Premier League also formally complained to Iraqi authorities in May, noting that its exclusive licensing agreements for the MENA region are being violated by unauthorised streaming services operating in Iraq.
Turkish content distribution company Inter Medya added its voice to the campaign, emphasizing that piracy contradicts Islamic principles of justice and legitimate ownership.
The companies have identified multiple platforms which they allege are illegally streaming in Iraq, many facilitated by local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), in particular Earthlink Group in federal Iraq and “Newrouz Telecom“/ Fastlink in Kurdistan. Platforms specifically named include:
CEE
Cinema Box
Cinemana
GigaNet World TV
MyTV+
Shabakaty
Shashety
Show365
Ubox
Vega Box
Veo (not to be confused with a legitimate Danish company of the same name)
Vodu
Weaana TV
The organisations are demanding immediate government action under Iraq’s Copyright Law No. 3 of 1971, as amended by Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 83 in 2004, which provides for significant fines, prison terms, and platform closures for copyright infringement.
Specific remedies sought include immediate shutdown of illegal streaming services, requirements for ISPs to block customer access to pirated content, strengthening judicial and law enforcement measures, and public awareness campaigns about the consequences of piracy.
A coalition of content providers and ISPs, operating under the Iraq Without Piracy banner, has formally requested Ministry of Communications support for an anti-piracy blocking program and a legal streaming framework. The coalition includes 1001, Al Jazeera, BeIN/TOD, FiberX, LaLiga, MBC/Shahid, NBTel, StarzPlay and Supercell.
The organisations warn that failure to address piracy could result in Iraq’s telecommunications sector facing consequences similar to those experienced by the banking sector, including potential international sanctions and legal action.
Industry leaders emphasise that taking decisive action against piracy would be crucial for Iraq’s application to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which requires strict adherence to intellectual property protection measures under the TRIPS Agreement.
In parallel, at a diplomatic level, countries with significant trading relationships with Iraq, including the United Kingdom and Spain, have requested the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of Communications to intervene to protect the rights of copyright holders.
The coordinated campaign represents an unprecedented alliance addressing what participants describe as one of the most significant challenges facing the development of Iraq’s digital economy.
Where possible, ISPs and streaming services mentioned have been approached for comment. At the time of publication, none have responded.
