Two jailed in Tanzania for pirating DSTV content

Dar es Salaam. The Karagwe District Court in Kagera, Tanzania has recently ordered two Tanzanians  to pay a fine of Sh20, 000,000 each or face a five-year jail sentence after being found guilty of content piracy contrary to the cyber-Crimes laws.

The two identified as David Peter Sembosi and Sebastian John each were found guilty for pirating MultiChoice Tanzania Limited content.

The investigation conducted by the cybercrime unit established that the two professionally-run illegal website that was viewed not only in Tanzania but in other countries with an estimated 200,000 visits monthly.

Content of DStv, a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice, were offered through an illegal website to provide access to subscription-based content. The website offered its subscribers illicit passwords to access the DStv services to view content.

The outcome of the investigation and the ruling is considered a big step forward in the war against content piracy which is growing by day in Tanzania.

Commenting on the outcome of the case, MultiChoice Tanzania Managing Director Jacqueline Woiso said copyright infringement has been a serious threat to the business in Tanzania and is also denying the government significant revenue.

“We are happy with the ruling, and we believe that our legal bodies will continue to make sure that laws are enforced for the benefit of not only operators, but also the Government and the African creative industry at large.”

She said the ruling will be an alert for everyone involved in copyright infringement acts and urged all parties to play their role in the fight against content piracy.

Speaking on the matter, the deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Arts and Sports Said Yakubu said they have received several complaints regarding copyright infringements especially content piracy in broadcasting, urging relevant authorities to act on the matter.

“I urge the relevant authority especially Cosota (Copyright Society of Tanzania), to take up the matter and ensure law enforcement. We have been informed of serious content piracy especially sports and film content. We understand that there are broadcasters with exclusive right on certain content. It is important that such rights are respected by all players to avoid chaos in the market,” he said.

Yakub said that the government is aware that content piracy is among the major challenges facing the industry and in addressing this the government has formed a special committee to review the status of copyright law enforcement in Tanzania and propose the best way forward in order to safeguard the copyright owners.

Copyright infringement in Tanzania costs the broadcasting business greatly as the investors fail to realise the desired return on investment as well as huge loss in terms of government revenues. Since content piracy is illegal, the pirates are not licensed hence do not pay any government levy.