KPDNHEP: Those caught selling illegal streaming devices face up to 20 years jail and RM200,000 fine

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The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) has warned all traders against selling streaming technology devices that contain copyright works without physical or digital permission. Its Enforcement Director, Azman Adam stressed that those caught red-handed can be fined up to RM200,000 or jailed for up to 20 years or both. 

This is as stipulated under Section 43AA of the Copyright Act 1987, whereby the aforementioned punishments can be taken against any individual or dealer who was found to be selling streaming technology devices containing copyrighted works without permission. Besides that, KPDNHEP can also take action under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which allows for all accounts belonging to offenders/suspects to be frozen and forfeited if found guilty.

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As reported by Bernama, the KPDNHEP Enforcement Director asserted that the ministry will take strict and continuous enforcement action to combat such illegal activities. Furthermore, Azman iterated that the ministry views the matter seriously and will not compromise with anyone involved in the sale of streaming technology devices containing copyrighted works without physical or digital permission.  

In a statement on Friday (21 October 2022), Azman also revealed that from 2018 to September 2022, KPDNHEP successfully foiled 531 cases of physical distribution of pirated content worth an estimated RM5.4 million. Moreover, during the same period, the ministry successfully blocked 2252 websites too, which contain pirated copyright works and a total of 2391 content items have been taken down for action. 

The KPDNHEP Enforcement Director added that another initiative taken by the ministry to combat digital copyright violations was to block illegal websites through the Cyber Copyright Enforcement (CYCORE). Up until last month, a total of 319 websites were successfully blocked, involving the removal of 1,902 content items.

So, what do you guys think of the statement by KPDNHEP? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more tech news from Malaysia and beyond!