ISPs Launch Legal Challenge Against Italy’s New Pirate IPTV Blocking Law
In response to constant claims by Italy’s multi-billion euro football and broadcasting sectors, that pirate IPTV services were “killing football” and there was no time to waste, this summer Italian lawmakers delivered. Mandatory ISP blockades, set to take pirate streams offline within 30 minutes, were just one part of an overall package designed to turn the tables on piracy services and, if necessary, punish the Italian citizens who...
Kiwi Farms’ Copyright Battle Could Spell Bad News for DMCA Transparency
Kiwi Farms is an online forum with a reputation for mocking and harassing people, actions that have been linked to several tragic deaths. In response to the barrage of negative news, several third-party providers including DreamHost, DDoS-Guard and Cloudflare have all banned the site. These voluntary curation actions are just the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes, many other services refused to work with the controversial site....
Bad Pirate IPTV User! Mandatory PSA Targets Uninformed “Common Man”
When Italy’s pirate IPTV blocking system eventually gets off the ground, it’s possible that up to hundreds of thousands of TVs, computers, mobile phones, and tablets will at some point return a blank screen; a disappointing alternative to the pirated football streams usually on display. Given the scale of the media coverage over the last couple of years, that’s unlikely to surprise many of the 25% of Italians addicted to...
Vietnam Forms Specialist Unit to Tackle Pirate Sites Linked to “Organized Crime”
Accurately predicting how, when and where the next wave of pirate sites will emerge to become the next big threat is much easier said than done. At any point, one of several moving parts could rule a country out for a few years, or propel it straight into pole position. From rapid development of internet infrastructure to a new generation blessed with the right skills, joining the workplace at just the right time, anything is possible...
Popular Torrent Tracker FileList Saved From Demise
With millions of monthly visits, FileList is one of the largest private torrent trackers. The site has been around for sixteen years and weathered many storms, including a crackdown by Romanian law enforcement which seized its domain name in 2020. Last weekend, the journey appeared close to an end when the site’s main operator, EboLLa, decided that he would rather spend time on other parts of his life. With no trusted successor in...
Court Orders Torrent Site Operators to Pay €489 Million in Piracy Damages
During the summer of 2017, French law enforcement booked a massive success with the shutdown of T411, a popular semi-private torrent tracker with over five million registered members. The site, which catered to a French-speaking audience, had been on the radar of rightsholders for some time. After avoiding the long arm of justice on several occasions, the curtain eventually fell. Following news of the site’s downfall, it appeared that...
