The ruling stems from Sky's civil case against Revolut, where subscribers allegedly used the Revolut banking application to pay resellers of pirated material. Sky initially sought a Norwich Pharmacal order to obtain information on individuals 'mixed up' in wrongdoing, with its representative Theo Donnelly telling the High Court that any details obtained would be used to pursue legal proceedings against resellers and certain users. The specific legal actions Sky plans to take against the 304 users and remaining resellers once the information is received have not been disclosed.
Revolut counsel John Freeman indicated his client maintained a neutral stance on Sky's application. The company's latest move follows a civil prosecution against David Dunbar of Wexford, who was ordered to pay Sky €480,000 in damages and €100,000 in costs for operating an illegal streaming service. Dunbar was fined an additional €30,000 for contempt over a breach of court orders to preserve data.
It was discovered that 12 resellers and 304 users had been transferring funds to Dunbar via Revolut, a discovery that prompted Sky to request additional information from Revolut. Proceedings had already been launched against two of the 12 resellers, though their identities remain unknown. Details regarding the 304 users are set to be delivered to Sky on an encrypted spreadsheet within the next 28 days.
The use of 'dodgy boxes' and illegal Fire Stick devices is considered a serious crime, with police forces across the UK and Ireland, alongside the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), working to clamp down on their use. A man from Merseyside was recently handed a custodial sentence for his personal use of illegal streaming, though the specific details of that sentence have not been released. Whether Revolut will face any penalties or legal consequences for its role in facilitating the transactions is unclear, as is the total number of similar cases Sky or other entities are pursuing against illegal streaming operations.