A new law has officially been given the seal of approval, meaning Kodi users who stream pirated films and TV shows could land themselves up to TEN years in jail.

Minister of state for Digital and Culture, Matt Hancock, has described being “delighted” at the fact the controversial Digital Economy Act has become law.

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He said: “This legislation will help build a more connected and stronger economy.

“The Act will enable major improvements in broadband rollout, better support for consumers, better protection for children on the Internet, and further transformation of government services.”

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Now that the Bill has received Royal Assent, overall, it introduces measures which - according to the UK Government - have been designed to empower consumers and ensure everyone has access to broadband wherever they live and build a better infrastructure fit for the digital future.

The Government also said it will enable better public services using digital technologies, provide important protections for citizens from spam email and nuisance calls, and also protect children from online pornography.

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In March, the Evening Times reported how the Bill could potentially hand copyright trolls the means to threaten online users with prison sentences of up to ten years for file-sharing.

The Open Rights Group (ORG) is a digital campaigning organisation that aims to protect the rights to privacy and free speech online, and it was them who wanted to change the Bill to make it more specific.

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As well as this, just last week, it emerged that a landmark verdict ruled that using a streaming service to access copyright protected and subscription content for free is the same as downloading pirated material.

In other words, using Kodi to watch this type of content is illegal, according to an EU court.