The controversy over The league and the pirate football It seems to be far from over, despite the fact that the judicial issue has already been more than clarified. However, the conflict now focuses on the public comments of Javier Tebas and his publications on X (Twitter), which are continually refuted by the Community Notes.
Let us remember that at first it reached the press that, by an Order from a Barcelona court, Internet operators had to deliver to LaLiga the IP addresses and personal data of all those who consumed pirated football.
In Hypertextual We explained to you that this was very far from being true. The question actually aimed to identify only those who engaged in the practice known as cardsharing. Something that has been ratified by the Spanish Judiciary this week.
“The operative part of the Order issued by the magistrate of the commercial court 8 of Barcelona, only requires the teleoperators to provide the personal data of those who illicitly share their contents, that is, only of the cardsharers who redistribute the signal to third parties and obtain a profit from it and not, therefore, from those who only defraud the fee,” the justice explained. However, Javier Tebas’s public statements seem to lead us to believe that the issue also affects end users. Which has caused a flurry of Community Notes on X (Twitter) denying it.
In a recent interview with Movistar Plus+Javer Tebas said the following:
“The issue is simple. The commercial court of Barcelona has decreed in an Order that television operators or Internet service providers, which are all telecom companies in this country, are obliged to give LaLiga the clients who contact a series of IP addresses that LaLiga with its anti-piracy team is going to provide. These IP addresses are obviously where football and other content is being broadcast, but above all LaLiga football, absolutely free, and sometimes charging. This obligation will entail that LaLiga will know who are those clients who are watching illegal football and will be able to address them with a lawsuit to claim damages.”
The publication on X (Twitter) with these statements has a Community Note, adding context and refuting what was said by Javier Tebas. “The Order only mentions that the operators would have to provide data from those who access servers to DISSEMINATE (those who broadcast the matches) the broadcasts, not from the clients who connect to CONSUME (spectators),” indicated the users of the social network. .
But the story does not end here.
The Notes of the X community (Twitter), against Javier Tebas
On his personal account on X (Twitter), Javier Tebas has made a series of publications in recent days referring to pirate football. In these he uses language in which he implies that the Order of the Barcelona court It also applies to final consumers. who watch LaLiga matches illegally.
“Faced with the note from the Communication Department of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia, we share the operative part of the Order that makes it clear that LaLiga will provide operators with the IP addresses that transmit illegal content, regardless of location, and these will inform LaLiga of the users who access these IPs,” he says a post from Monday, March 11. The Community Note was immediate in this tweet:
“As indicated in the Order itself, potentially only the information of those who illegally share the content and not of those who consume it will be provided.”
Yesterday, meanwhile, Javier Tebas returned to the fray with the issue of pirate football, and with a defiant tone. It is that it put those who broadcast LaLiga matches illegally and those who consume it on the same level.. “The Auto says what it says. Although some continue to insist on the opposite. By the way, I really want to continue supporting illegal behavior. The one who emits the pirate signal is as much a thief as the one who sees it or buys it at ridiculous prices. See contents pirates = steal = thief”, public. And the Community Note refuting his statements did not take long to appear:
“Tebas, for the 5th day in a row, lies based on its interests. The CGPJ clearly separated the cardsharers who rebroadcast the signal for profit and to the end user who only consumes it. Being a lawyer, equating both practices is a crude and self-serving attempt at manipulation.”
Another note from the community accusing Javier Tebas of being a liar was added to the same publication:
“Pirating is not being the same thief as broadcasting. Viewing this content could be a civil or administrative offense, never criminal, as broadcasting is or stealing is. Mr. Tebas is presupposed to have this knowledge, since he is a lawyer , so, then, he lies with intention.”
A controversy that is not over yet
What about Javier Tebas and the users of X (Twitter) already seems to be a war without quarter. And it is clear that the president of LaLiga does not like him at all. Days ago he had already launched a dart against those who flooded his publications on the social network with Community Notes. “To those readers who have provided context, I would like to point out that the Order is the result of previous firm judicial decisions, and it is a judge who authorizes data collection by operators. In short, some seem eager to continue with illegal activities”, Indian.
And on Elon Musk’s platform they have not hesitated to call him a liar. “Tebas lies in order to scare. It is an Order, not a final sentence, and the operators cannot provide personal data to a private company like LaLiga, since it would violate the LOPD (Organic Law on Protection of Personal Data) “They can only provide them to a competent authority,” says one of the Notes included in the publication. A second clarification even accuses Javier Tebas of “generating an atmosphere of terror” around the controversy over pirate football.
As we already explained at the beginning, the Spanish Judiciary has been clear regarding this issue. The request for information only affects the IP addresses of those who broadcast football via cardsharing, and not to those who defraud the quota. And it has also been established that Any future lawsuits that may arise from the preliminary proceedings may only be directed against those responsible for pirating the matches.. Therefore, consumers of illegal content will not be affected by this particular situation.