Operation 404.7 Targets 675 Pirate Sites, Brazil’s ISPs Now Block 6,700+ Domains
From launch in November 2019, the last five years have seen Brazil’s Operation 404 establish itself as both a local and international anti-piracy enforcement campaign. Operation 404’s branding plays on the HTTP 404 error message “page not found” and to indicate each new wave, 404 is followed by a decimal point and the corresponding wave number; the results of Operation 404.6 were announced late November 2023 so here in September 2024,...
Pirate Video Hosting Domain of Fmovies ‘Mothership’ Makes Surprise Comeback
For years, Fmovies presented a major threat to Hollywood, one that seemed near impossible to defeat. The site’s operators were linked to dozens of popular pirate sites, generating billions of visits annually. While MPA’s anti-piracy flagship ACE tied the operation to Vietnam early on, effectively shutting it down took years. In addition to gathering intelligence, Hollywood’s diplomatic powers were required to force a breakthrough....
Magis TV IPTV Crackdown Blocks 70 Domains, Hundreds Already Wiped Out
Last December when the MPA and other rightsholders renewed calls for site-blocking measures to be implemented in the United States, much of the focus was placed on Fmovies. Before its recent sudden demise, Fmovies was considered the world’s largest illegal movie and TV show streaming site, yet some lawmakers in attendance at last year’s hearing had never heard of it before. Fewer still would’ve heard of pirate IPTV service Magis TV,...
Germany Adds Sports Streaming Site ‘TotalSportek’ to Pirate Site Blocklist
In 2021, Germany joined a growing list of countries that have institutionalized pirate site blocking schemes in place. Several large ISPs teamed up with copyright holders and launched the “Clearing Body for Copyright on the Internet” (CUII), which is responsible for handing down blocking ‘orders’. While CUII doesn’t rely on court judgments, there is some form of oversight. When copyright holders report a pirate site for consideration,...
ISPs Back Cox’s Supreme Court Petition to Counter “Extortionate” Piracy Liability Pressure
In August, Cox Communications filed a petition at the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a review of a Fourth Circuit ruling that held the company liable for pirating subscribers. The Internet provider ultimately challenges a $1 billion jury verdict in favor of major record labels, including Sony and Universal, arguing that it has far-reaching implications for Internet providers and the broader American public. Cox wrote that, in its...
Fake Streams ‘Save’ Premier League Pirates, Security Tips Can Save More
In a couple of weeks the UK’s BeStreamWise anti-piracy campaign will celebrate its one-year anniversary. Launched last October, the campaign aims to deter citizens from consuming live sports from pirate IPTV services and other platforms offering illegal streams. With the slogan “Illegal Streams Let Criminals In” companies including Sky, Premier League, FACT, and ITV, hope that consumers will weigh cheap prices against the risk of...
