AMAZON is introducing tougher restrictions for Fire TV users to prevent pirated content being viewed on their devices.
The streaming giant has gradually been blocking piracy apps on their Fire TV sticks since last year.
Initially, users would see warning messages when downloading and opening apps that Amazon believed to have pirated content available on them.
Now, these suspected apps have been almost fully blocked by Amazon making them almost impossible to be installed or launched on the devices.
The banned apps cannot be downloaded because they are no longer present on Amazon’s app store.
Previously, to bypass the ban, users attempting to watch pirated content would use cloning app tools to avoid detection.
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However, for the more tech savvy Amazon customers, these new restrictions can still be worked around by using updated cloning tools to modify files before downloading them on to the Fire Stick.
Plus, various websites exist where users can alter apps externally.
And pre-modified versions of many blacklisted apps are available to install which Amazon haven’t blocked yet.
Watching, streaming, or downloading copyrighted content like film and TV through unauthorised sources is illegal in the UK under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The crime can carry fines of up to £5,000 and even prison sentences.
But despite this, Amazon users have expressed frustration at this new crackdown.
