The Audiovisual Media Authority’s Chairwoman, Ms. Armela Krasniqi, participated in the periodic meeting of the National Council for European Integration, held at the Parliament of Albania, where she was invited to report and contribute to discussions on “The fight against digital and audiovisual piracy, progress and challenges in the context of European Union accession negotiations”. During the meeting, Ms. Krasniqi presented AMA’s approach and the measures it has undertaken to combat audiovisual piracy.
In her remarks, Ms. Krasniqi emphasized that piracy is no longer confined to the illegal copying of a film or other audiovisual content. Now piracy has evolved into a highly organized activity that exploits modern technologies, relying on servers distributed across multiple jurisdictions, mobile applications, social media and online platforms to disseminate protected content without the authorization of rights holders. She emphasized that this phenomenon poses a direct threat to the audiovisual market functioning, undermines fair competition and harms operators that lawfully invest in high-quality content.
AMA’s Chairwoman highlighted that addressing emerging forms of piracy requires continuous monitoring of the digital environment, strong interinstitutional coordination and close cooperation with global technology platforms. In this context, she presented the Authority’s achievements in identifying and blocking servers, applications and platforms that illegally distribute audiovisual content, as well as its cooperation with national authorities and international partners to curb this phenomenon.
“Specifically, during 2025, 10 servers operating within the territory of Albania and distributing unauthorized audiovisual content were identified and measures were taken to shut them down. In addition, 4 servers located abroad, in Romania, the United Kingdom and France and through cooperation with international hosting service providers, were successfully blocked. This clearly demonstrates that the fight against piracy is no longer confined to national borders but requires continuous international coordination”.
Particular attention has also been devoted to online communication platforms, which are increasingly being used to promote and distribute pirated content. On the Telegram platform alone, inspection teams identified 11 groups, engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of audiovisual content. Following our official reports, 7 of these groups were subsequently removed by the platform.
Equally significant has been the cooperation with international technology companies, hosting service providers, domain registrars, application platforms, advertising companies and payment service providers. To provide a concrete example, during 2026, AMA contacted 20 such entities as part of investigations into the illegal distribution of television channels through applications and IPTV services. Of these, 13 entities responded to the institution’s requests.
- 8 took concrete enforcement measures by suspending servers or domains, or by removing pirated content.
- 3 cases remain under review.
- Only 2 of the 13 entities that responded to the institution declined to take action.
As a result of this cooperation, AMA identified and reported two pirate applications – “Kanali IM” and “ShikoShqip”, which were removed a total of five times from various video sharing platforms. The sharing platforms that removed these unlicensed applications were Google Play Store (two cases – Kanali IM and ShikoShqip), APKPure (Kanali IM), Aptoide (Kanali IM) and Uptodown (Kanali IM).
During her presentation, Ms. Krasniqi also addressed the importance of strengthening the legal framework, emphasizing that the proposed amendments to the Audiovisual Media Law are intended to enhance the protection of broadcasting rights and improve the effectiveness of anti-piracy measures. She noted that the fight against piracy cannot be won through sanctions alone, but requires a combination of legal instruments, effective monitoring, institutional cooperation and public awareness.
In conclusion, AMA’s Chairwoman emphasized that protecting broadcasting rights is essential to ensuring a fair, competitive and sustainable audiovisual market, underscoring that the fight against piracy is an ongoing process requiring the shared commitment of institutions, the audiovisual industry and international partners.
Media sector representatives, who were invited to attend the meeting, expressed their concerns about digital piracy, noting that the damage caused by this phenomenon is substantial.
Meanwhile, the Chair of the National Council for European Integration, Mr. Taulant Balla, called on the Audiovisual Media Authority, the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP), the State Police and the General Directorate of Taxation to sign, within 30 days, a memorandum of understanding establishing a joint task force to combat digital piracy, using the Italian model as a reference. He emphasized that the task force should coordinate interinstitutional efforts to combat piracy and strengthen security in the digital environment, in line with European standards. Mr. Balla further emphasized that the fight against digital piracy is an important component of Albania’s European integration process and announced that the task force’s progress and results will be reviewed at a future meeting of the National Council for European Integration during the next parliamentary session.
The National Council for European Integration (NCEI) is a consultative body established within the Parliament of Albania to support and monitor the country’s European Union integration process. The NCEI serves as a platform for cooperation among state institutions, the opposition, civil society, academia, the business community and international partners.
