As part of the fight against piracy, the Audiovisual Council has drawn up 11 protocols on administrative offenses against platform operators in the last 2 months
In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Media", multiplex and platform operators operating in the Republic of Azerbaijan under a license may retransmit foreign television channels only if they submit to the Audiovisual Council the required documents (contract, agreement, permission, license, etc.).
As a result of the monitoring carried out over the past 2 months, violations were revealed in the retransmission packages of the platform operators "Artkom. Net" LLC, "Boss Group" LLC, "Shakh Telecom" LLC (Shakh TV), "AzeriGlobalServis" CJSC (AGS TV), "Eurosel" LLC, "Clip TV" LLC, "Bulud Store" LLC (Bulud TV), "Smart Systems Technology" LLC (ODTV), "Beeonline" OJSC, "Rahat Telecom" LLC, "Global Technology" LLC (Azeri TV). Protocols on administrative offences were drawn up and sent to the relevant courts, taking into account the requirements of Article 43.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
As a result of the court hearings, each of operators "Boss Group" LLC, "Shakh Telecom" LLC (Shakh TV), "AzeriGlobalServis" CJSC (AGS TV), "Eurosel" LLC, "Artkom.Net" LLC, "Rahat Telecom" LLC, "Smart Systems Technology" LLC (ODTV) have been fined 5000 AZN so far. Further court hearings are expected in the near future.
The Audiovisual Council reminds operators that foreign television channels included in the retransmission packages made available to the public can only be retransmitted with the appropriate authorization document. Regular monitoring will be conducted in this regard, and the public will be provided with the necessary information regarding the results of the monitoring.
In addition to this process, the Audiovisual Council continues to fight against resources that pirate retransmits foreign television channels and audiovisual content to the public through a number of websites and social media accounts. As part of the ongoing necessary measures, in 2024, a number of IP addresses and resources operating without a license and in violation of the law have been restricted based on relevant court decisions.
However, the fight against piracy in retransmission services is not a one-time action, it should be continuous and regular, as in other countries, and should be supported by the whole society. As a regulatory body, the Audiovisual Council calls on the public to use the services of legally operating and licensed audiovisual media entities, and to support the activities against piracy in the audiovisual media field.
