Within the US copyright law largely overseen by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act DMCA strongly emphasizes the sharing of copyrighted works Making pirated material available is a clear violation but the simple action of streaming viewing material without a permanent download exists within a less defined legal space

Internet companies frequently send warnings for activity recognized on unauthorized streaming sites While pursuing individual streamers is unusual frequent offenders risk service restrictions or removal

The European Union has a firmer viewpoint since a 2017 judgment by the European Court of Justice CJEU This explicitly specifies that knowingly streaming copyrighted works from an illegal provider is copyright infringement This holds true even without any permanent copy being made by the user

Enforcement changes significantly amongst EU nations with some being more assertive in targeting individual users The emphasis lies on the user's understanding that the provider is illegal