Kodi ban: Amazon cracks down on controversial service

The company has prohibited certain media players, but has refused to reveal which ones

Incidentally, one of the devices that Kodi can be installed on is Amazon’s own Fire TV Stick (REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz)

Amazon has announced a crackdown on media players that enable consumers to illegally access pirated content.

The firm has warned sellers that their accounts face termination if they’re found to be selling “certain” prohibited streaming media players.

“Products offered for sale on Amazon should not promote, suggest the facilitation of, or actively enable the infringement of or unauthorized access to digital media or other protected content,” reads the company’s warning.

“Any streaming media player or other device that violates this policy is prohibited from sale on Amazon.”

Amazon has compiled a list of banned products, but it can only be accessed by sellers.

The company also refused to tell The Independent which products are on the list.

“If you sell these products, we may immediately suspend or terminate your selling privileges and destroy inventory in our fulfillment centers without reimbursement,” the announcement continues.

The update has been widely interpreted as a ban on so-called “fully loaded Kodi boxes”.

The open-source software enables users to illegally stream copyrighted content, such as TV shows, films and live sports, using a variety of free third-party add-ons.

While these don’t take long to install, the process isn’t straightforward and, as such, some sellers have started specialising in media players that come pre-loaded with certain add-ons.

Incidentally, one of the devices that Kodi can be installed on is Amazon’s own Fire TV Stick.

Earlier this year, the Premier League obtained an injunction enabling it to work hand-in-hand with UK internet service providers to block illegal streams fed to Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) boxes running Kodi, in real time.