Spanish League deploys smartphone microphones to detect illegal broadcasts

The Spanish Primera División asks users of its Android app permission to use the microphone of smartphones. These pick up inaudible sound to detect illegal football broadcasts.

With the update of the app of La Liga, the top Spanish football league, users must accept the new terms and conditions and thereby give the service permission to use the microphone and determine the position of the device.

With every broadcast of a football match, La Liga sends an ultrasonic signal that, like a kind of barcode, indicates which match is involved. The intention is that the app receives the signal and forwards the location to the servers of the organization. In time, La Primera División will build up a database of locations that broadcast matches, both at home and in cafes and other venues.

The organization then links this data to information about who has a license to show the matches. La Liga hopes to be able to track down bars that don’t have a license. Many establishments in Spain would avoid the 212 euros per month that must be paid for the permit. According to La Vanguarda, the fraud is estimated at an amount of 150 million euros per year.

According to El País, the update is causing a stir in Spain and privacy experts are questioning whether this practice is lawful, because many people blindly accept the terms and conditions.