Fire TV sticks are widely used to stream pirated content, especially sports via IPTV, representing billions of dollars in losses, while Google and Microsoft fail to update their DRM systems.
That is the conclusion of a scathing new report titled "Video piracy: Big tech is clearly unwilling to address the problem" by Enders Analysis.
- "Industrial scale theft of video services, especially live sport, is in the ascendance. Combating piracy is a formidable challenge, providing a direct threat to profitability for broadcasters and streamers. Big tech is both friend and foe in solving the piracy problem. Conflicting incentives harm consumer safety by providing easy discovery of illegal pirated services, and reduced friction through low-cost hardware such as the Amazon Firestick," wrote Enders Analysis.
Fire TV as "the piracy enabler"
Enders Analysis refers to Amazon's Fire TV sticks as "a piracy enabler" for illegal video streams, particularly of sports content, which has become increasingly expensive to access legally for consumers.
These Fire TV sticks are typically jailbroken (the manufacturer's restrictions are bypassed) and sold by a third party pre-loaded with IPTV apps that can stream pirated sports content over the internet. According to Q1 2025 data reported by the BBC, 59% of UK residents accessing illegal streams are doing so via Fire TV sticks.
Enders also noted that these illegal Fire TV sticks are primarily marketed and sold via Meta's Facebook and WhatsApp platforms, with little effort by Meta to remove the ads promoting them.
Even without being jailbroken, Fire TV sticks can run sideloaded Android apps (APKs), as the Fire TV operating system is based on Android, letting users install apps not found in the official app stores. Sideloading is also possible on Android TV and Google TV devices.
FireTV is built on Android and can run all kinds of side-loaded Android apps
Google & Microsoft blamed for weak DRM
Enders further criticized Google and Microsoft for their failing DRM systems, Widevine and PlayReady, which are intended to prevent piracy, saying they are "now compromised across various security levels".
For example, Microsoft has not updated PlayReady since December 2022.
- "Over twenty years since launch, the DRM solutions provided by Google and Microsoft are in steep decline. A complete overhaul of the technology architecture, licensing, and support model is needed. Lack of engagement with content owners indicates this is a low priority," said Enders Analysis.
Microsoft did not comment, while Google told BBC that it takes copyright infringement seriously.
Amazon to lock down Fire OS
Amazon said that pirated content violates its policies and compromises device security. The company said it is taking steps to limit piracy on its devices.
Also read: Report: Apple TV 4K tops privacy with no invasive viewing tracking (ACR)
One major upcoming change is Amazon's plan to switch from Android to its own Linux-based Vega OS for Fire TV sticks. This transition will require developers to rebuild all apps and will eliminate the ability to sideload Android apps (APKs).
Google has not commented on plans to remove sideloading capabilities.
- Source: Enders Analysis, BBC
