Ministry of Economy and Tourism reviews InstaBlock Centre’s efforts to protect sports broadcasting rights and combat digital piracy during 2026 World Cup

Centre blocks 14,122 websites and applications illegally streaming sports content during the global event

The Ministry of Economy and Tourism announced the results of its InstaBlock Centre’s efforts to safeguarding sports broadcasting rights and combating digital piracy during the 2026 World Cup. The efforts form part of the integrated intellectual property (IP) ecosystem developed by the Ministry to enhance the protection of copyright and digital content and ensure a secure digital environment in the UAE.

The Ministry explained that the InstaBlock Centre blocked 14,122 websites and applications illegally streaming sports content during the FIFA World Cup 2026, including 9,595 domains and 4,527 IP addresses, thanks to its monitoring and instant-response system for reporting copyrights infringements in broadcasting. The efforts were carried out in cooperation with relevant entities and local economic departments, limiting the spread of unlicensed content and protecting the rights of owners of intellectual works, including sports and media broadcasting rights and the entities that own them.

Additionally, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, in cooperation with local economic departments, carried out a series of field inspections covering more than 370 commercial establishments during the World Cup, particularly cafés and restaurants. These visits resulted in the detection of 287 violating establishments, promoting compliance with legislation regulating broadcasting rights and IP protection, while ensuring that sports content is streamed through licensed channels.

Since the establishment of the InstaBlock Centre in February 2025, a total of 68,401 websites and applications violating sports broadcasting rights have been blocked. This growth reflects the continued development of the Centre’s capabilities, with the number of websites blocked reaching 1,132 in 2023, 4,557 in 2024, and 21,000 in 2025.

H.E. Dr. Abdelrahman Hassan Al Muaini, Assistant Undersecretary for the Intellectual Property Rights Sector at the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, underscored InstaBlock’s importance as one of the advanced tools within the national IP ecosystem to protect the rights of owners of creative and sports content. H.E. highlighted that the Centre has enhanced the speed of response to digital infringements and considerably reduced the illegal circulation and broadcasting of content by harnessing latest technology and AI applications..

H.E. explained that protecting sports broadcasting rights, particularly during major global events such as the World Cup, forms a key part of the UAE’s efforts to support the creative and sports content economy. H.E. emphasised that the inspection campaigns carried out by the Ministry, in cooperation with local economic entities, have contributed to enhancing compliance with legislation regulating broadcasting rights, while strengthening the confidence of rights holders and broadcasters in the UAE’s digital environment. This further consolidates the country’s position among leading nations in combating digital piracy.

H.E. indicated that the Centre relies on an integrated system that begins with receiving reports and complaints from rights holders regarding infringing websites or applications, before referring them to the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) to take blocking measures. The process of detecting an infringing website and completing the blocking procedures takes around 10 to 15 minutes, enhancing the speed of digital enforcement and instant response to infringements.

The InstaBlock Centre’s mechanism includes monitoring and blocking websites and applications that illegally stream sports content, in cooperation with its strategic partner TDRA, and in partnership with LaLiga and Eurostar Multimedia.

Since its launch, the Centre has contributed to strengthening cooperation between the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, regulatory entities, internet service providers, and rights holders by providing a fast and effective mechanism for monitoring infringing content and responding instantly to blocking requests. This has helped reduce response times to infringement reports, limit the illegal circulation of content, and protect investments associated with the sports and creative content industry.

The results reflect the continued development of the UAE’s capabilities in harnessing modern technology solutions to protect IP and enhance compliance with relevant legislation, as part of an integrated national approach that supports the growth of creative industries and the knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy. It also encourages the public to access content through official and licensed sources, enhancing the UAE’s competitiveness in IP rights protection and digital anti-piracy indicators, in line with the objectives of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision to strengthen the UAE’s position as a global hub for the new economy.