U.S. Trade Representative Lists the Most Notorious Piracy Threats
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) published its annual “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets” a few hours ago. The non-exhaustive list includes dozens of sites and services linked to piracy or counterfeiting activity. The report is largely based on input from copyright industry groups, including the RIAA and MPA. Platforms detailed in recommendations filed late last year, are meant to serve as ‘prominent and...
Google Deindexes 200 Streaming Sites For Violating EU Sanctions on Russia
The adage that the first casualty of war is the truth held solid as Russia denied any intention of invading Ukraine, even as it was actively doing so. State-controlled media, television presenters in particular, turned in some remarkable performances for the benefit of local audiences. While dramatically documenting events that bore only a passing resemblance to reality on the ground, broadcasters including Russia Today, Sputnik, and...
IPTV Piracy Expert Urges Restraint in Rush Towards Automated Blocking
Dynamic injunctions for tackling live sports piracy were crafted in the UK by the Premier League and first authorized by the High Court of England and Wales in 2017. Football Association Premier League Ltd v British Telecommunications Plc & Ors compelled the UK’s major ISPs to block specific servers providing illicit match streams into the UK, with flexibility built-in by design. In the years that followed, continuous fine-tuning...
Anti-Piracy Group Wants to Expand Italy’s ‘Piracy Shield’ to Protect Movies
Less than a year has passed since Italy officially implemented the ‘Piracy Shield‘ system that aims to thwart live sports streaming piracy. Since February the system has blocked access to thousands of IP-addresses and domain names associated with unauthorized broadcasts. This massive blocking operation is seen as a major success by the authorities and many participating rightsholders. As time passed, however, its weaknesses also...
Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 01/06/2025
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. Downloading content without permission is copyright infringement. These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources. This week we have two newcomers on the list. “Wicked” is the most shared title. The most torrented movies...
UK Court Sentences ‘Pirate’ Fire Stick Seller to Two Years in Prison
Offering pirate streaming services is a serious offense in the UK, where several people have received multi-year prison sentences. Last Friday, another seller was added to this growing list. At York Crown Court, 41-year-old Sunny Kanda from Wheatley, Halifax, was sentenced to two years in prison for selling modified Fire Sticks that provided access to pirate IPTV streams. The sentencing doesn’t come as a surprise, as Kanda pleaded...
