Response to interpellation 2025/26:316 on criminal justice measures against illegal IP-TV
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M is concerned about finding solutions against illegal IP-TV as it is worrying that money goes to organized crime instead of to cultural creators and the sports movement 1. M considers that the issue is large, affects several departments and requires coordination 2. M emphasizes that the government has appointed an inquiry and given additional directives 2. M agrees that illegal IP-TV is a serious problem that affects cultural creators, the sports movement and society's preparedness 3. M points out that the government is now analyzing the report and the referral responses 1 3. M considers it a major concern that outsiders can manipulate content in real-time 3. M considers the risk of increased disinformation and diminished trust in media to be worrying 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Lars Mejern Larsson has asked the Minister for Justice if the Minister intends to adjust the sentencing scale and give the police additional powers to act in order to address the illegal streaming of film and television productions.
The work within the government is distributed in such a way that it is I who shall answer the interpellation.
The Film Inquiry submitted the report Measures against illegal IP-TV (SOU 2025:100) on September 30, 2025. The report contains proposals aimed at countering illegal IP-TV. One of the proposals submitted by the inquiry is that the penalties for the most serious cases of crime, for example in cases of organized crime, shall be tightened and that a special sentencing scale shall be introduced for gross crimes. Such a tightening of penalties would mean that the Swedish Police Authority is given additional powers to intervene in suspected crime. The report has been referred. The last day to comment was January 22, 2026.
I have been clear that I am eager to find solutions to counter illegal IP-TV. It is alarming that we see a development where more and more Swedes choose to pay money directly into organized crime in order to be able to watch movies, sports broadcasts, and TV series through just illegal IP-TV. A serious effect of that development is that revenues that should end up with cultural creators, the sports movement, streaming services, and TV companies instead go straight into the pockets of criminal networks.
The responses to the referral should be in by the end of January. Within the Government Offices, work is currently underway to analyze the views that have been submitted, including the statements from the Police Authority and the Prosecution Authority. After that, the government will be able to return to the continued handling.
Lars Mejern Larsson (S)
Thank you, Madam Speaker! Illegal IP-TV is far too large a problem in Sweden to be allowed to continue, writes the government's special investigator Eva Bergquist.
I have raised the issue on repeated occasions. When I asked questions about the economic consequences, the Minister for Finance referred me to the Minister for Justice. When I asked questions about threats to the Swedish film industry, the Minister for Culture referred me to the Minister for Justice. When I asked the Minister for Justice, who has just left the chamber, I was referred back to the Minister for Culture.
Madam Speaker! This risks appearing as minister-ping-pong. In the meantime, the illegal market is growing. The Government cannot hide behind unclear lines of responsibility. When several ministers are involved, someone must take collective responsibility. The question is therefore simple: Who in the Government takes the political responsibility for combating the illegal IP-TV market?
Madam Speaker! In Sweden, 700,000 households use illegal IP-TV without realizing that organized crime is a major player in the market. It is extremely important that the public understands that the gangs earn money from the illegal activity. A powerful information campaign would need to be put in place so that households realize they are committing a crime. I do not think many users connect their TV watching with organized crime.
That the activity is allowed to grow without measures being taken is actually not like the government, which otherwise acts quickly when it comes to the activities of organized crime. One sees many households committing crimes and simultaneously hears how members from the government's most important coalition party think that precisely this crime needs to be handled in a different way than others. Then one can easily conclude that the government has backed away from its clear position, which the Minister for Justice took in an earlier debate with me on the issue.
The IP-TV issue must be treated individually and with greater interest than the government has done so far. I have heard powerful statements but have not seen any decisive proposal from the government. Passivity regarding this issue is absolutely not the solution.
Madam Speaker! Can the Minister here today give me a clear answer on how the government intends to handle the issue regarding IP-TV going forward?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! I truly appreciate Lars Mejern Larsson's commitment to this issue. Let me also be clear that this is not about the government bouncing things between different ministers to avoid giving answers, but rather that the issue is so large and affects several different departments and therefore needs to be handled with respect for the content and for the legislation that exists and will need to be looked at more closely in the future.
And since there are several of us who bear responsibility for the different parts affected by the issue of illegal IP-TV, we also need to look at which parts fall within my portfolio and which fall within the portfolios of other ministers. I can reassure Lars Mejern Larsson that this is, therefore, not about not giving answers or trying to shoot the question down. It was important enough for this government, of which I am a part, to handle this issue so that we could present a supplementary directive to the Film Commission to look into the issue of illegal IP-TV.
Let me remind you that the previous government, which was led by Lars Mejern Larsson's party Socialdemokraterna, did not address this issue at all during its years in power. We have appointed an inquiry. We have given additional directives to the inquiry that directly concern illegal IP-TV. We have received all the responses from the consultation round which concluded at the end of January, Madam Speaker. It is quite swiftly done, I would like to say, during one parliamentary term.
Our ambition is to take in and work through the material we have now received, both via the committee report and through the referral responses, in order to be able to handle the issue further. The member can feel confident that we are working under high pressure and at a high pace. This is a prioritized issue for me and for the government.
Lars Mejern Larsson (S)
Madam Speaker! On March 21, 2025, I debated with Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer, who then said: "If we do not get at the criminal economy, we will also not seriously get at organized crime." It is a powerful and correct statement, and I share that view. But then the words must be followed by action.
Several parts of the investigation's proposal do not concern legislative changes but rather a mobilization from the public sector. They concern, for example, resources and priorities for police and prosecutors investigating what lies behind the illegal service. The signal and instruction to those authorities could be sent immediately. The investigation on measures against illegal IP-TV proposes harsher penalties for serious crimes and organized crime. The Minister confirms that the police can receive additional powers. That is good.
We have heard from the government's partners that the proposal regarding individuals' liability would hit ordinary viewers. Let us be clear that the purpose of the proposal is not to hunt down individual people, but to clarify that unauthorized consumption is not permitted and to tighten the penalties for those who organize, distribute, and profit from this illegal market. That is where the criminal economy lies.
The investigation also proposes more effective tools against distribution, coordination between authorities, improved blocking, and modernized rules that are adapted to today's digital reality. These are reasonable and proportionate measures.
Madam Speaker! Organized crime hits Swedish sports hard. I have had conversations with representatives from Svensk Elitfotboll, SHL, and Färjestad BK. All have been clear that the loss of income affects grassroots and youth sports in a negative way. They testify to the same thing. Piracy streaming of sports is a growing problem that erodes the revenue model for the entire sports sector. Sports economics is largely built on rights revenue and sponsorship.
When people watch via illegal services, the value of the broadcasting rights decreases, and that affects the clubs' finances and opportunities to invest in youth activities and the conditions to retain and develop players. It is not about abstract figures. It is about local associations. It is about jobs. It is about children and young people who get their first training time thanks to the elite activities functioning financially.
When rights revenues are undermined, it hits the entire system, from the elite to the grassroots. It can have serious consequences for the entire Swedish sports movement – and ultimately for public health – in the future. I wonder if the Minister shares my concern about what long-term consequences illegal IP-TV can inflict on Swedish grassroots athletes and, in the long run, on children's and youth's sports participation.
Madam Speaker! When and if will powerful proposals come to combat the criminal activity that illegal IP-TV entails?
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Addressing organized crime is a priority for the government. It needs to be handled in many different ways. Organized crime – not least economic crime – among the gangs needs to be broken up in very many different ways. The government has done many things to, in different ways, plug holes and stop criminals from the economic turnover they use to finance their crime.
The current legislation regarding IPTV has not kept pace with either technological developments or how illegal services operate today. I completely agree with Lars Mejern Larsson that it is a concern. Therefore, we issued supplementary directives to the Film Investigation.
One of the proposals submitted by the Film Commission is that the penalties for the most serious crimes, that is, for example organized crime, should be tightened. A specific sentencing scale for serious crimes should be looked at. This has been highlighted by the commission as a proposal. The commission justifies the proposal by stating that the criminal activity is well-organized, has often been conducted over a long period, generates large revenues and, not least, causes great damage to all those affected in a multitude of different ways, just as Lars Mejern Larsson highlighted.
That is why this question is important. It is important to prevent criminals from accessing these funds. But it is just as important to ensure that these funds can be returned to children's and youth sports clubs and other things, to film and TV producers, and to various types of actors who help in society to promote Swedish moving images in different ways. That is where the money belongs, not with organized crime.
Therefore, this is an important issue for the government, and I can only further reinforce the message to the member. We received the referral responses at the end of January. It is, as far as I know, the middle of February now, and both I and the member know that such matters need to be worked through properly. But I can promise the member that we do everything we can to handle both the proposal in the committee report and the referral responses that have arrived in the best possible way for the future.
Lars Mejern Larsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you to the Minister for the answer! I hear that this is prioritized and I expect that the tightened proposals against illegal IP-TV will be included in the upcoming film policy proposition. Anything else would be irresponsible.
I also want to highlight the security aspect and the threat to democracy that exists regarding this issue in my final post. When hundreds of thousands of households use illegal services, the risk of manipulated broadcasts and disinformation increases. This is a vulnerability in the information environment that should not be underestimated. From a preparedness perspective, it is deeply problematic that so many Swedes receive TV broadcasts via services provided by criminal actors, often based outside the country's borders.
We know that organized crime is seeking new sources of income. We know that the criminal economy is global. At the same time, technological development has progressed very rapidly. With today's AI tools, it is entirely possible to manipulate content in real time, even when it concerns something as fundamental as news broadcasts. If large groups of citizens find themselves in an unregulated and criminally controlled distribution environment, it opens the door for influence campaigns and disinformation. This is a concrete risk, not a theoretical argument.
The investigation highlights that there is an urgent need for further investigation of the question of legal and practical prerequisites for introducing more effective blocking decisions. When will such an investigation be appointed?
Madam Speaker! I want to conclude my contribution by asking the Minister if she shares her colleague the Minister for Justice's indifferent attitude towards Färjestad being the country's best ice hockey team.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! I must begin by thanking Lars Mejern Larsson for a very good debate. I am incredibly pleased that the commitment to this issue exists in several parties, including Lars Mejern Larsson's Socialdemokraterna.
The time to comment on the report on measures against illegal IP-TV has, as I have said several times, recently expired. We have received many referral responses – so many that it is clear that this is an important issue that engages people. Within the Government Offices, work is now underway to handle and analyze the report, of course, but also the referral responses that have been received from both the Police Authority and the Prosecution Authority.
It is not possible in the current situation to say which of these proposals the government may come to present, and I will have to return to that. But with that said, I have been clear that the development of illegal IP-TV is worrying and a serious problem. I completely agree with the member on this. It affects cultural creators, the sports movement and media services of various kinds, and also society as a whole, naturally. It is about both lost tax revenues and what the member mentions here: the uncertainty regarding our preparedness, which we have a responsibility to build up.
One thing that must also not be forgotten is precisely how this is to be handled in relation to the security and preparedness perspective. That outsiders in real-time can both change and manipulate content in others' or their own programs is, of course, a huge concern. When a large proportion of Swedish households receive TV broadcasts through illegal IP-TV, there is a risk that this leads both to an increase in disinformation in society and to a decrease in people's trust in the media. This is an issue that is worrying and that we, of course, need to take very seriously.
I will let the question regarding Färjestad slide a bit. I think it might be a bit sensitive to bring it up here in the rostrum; it should be addressed in another context.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.