Telegram’s Response to Piracy Has Improved Since CEO’s Arrest
When news broke in August that Telegram founder Pavel Durov had been arrested after his private plane touched down in France, speculation on the reasons behind that were in plentiful supply. After letting the rumor mill boil for a few days, French authorities said they had charged Durov with criminal offenses related to his role at Telegram and the platform’s “near-total absence” of cooperation with French authorities. After initially...
AAPA Seeks to Expand EU Pirate Site Blocking to Browsers and VPNs
In recent years, the European Commission has proposed and adopted various legislative changes to help combat online piracy. They include the Copyright Directive which passed in 2019 and the Digital Services Act (DSA), which followed not long after. These measures have been spurred on by major copyright holders, who have long called for stricter enforcement of pirated content online. At the same time, there are continued calls for...
Ryujinx Switch Emulator Project Shuts Down Under Nintendo Pressure
When a Nintendo lawsuit targeted the people behind the Yuzu emulator in February, leading to its shutdown just a few weeks later, dark clouds appeared over the future of Switch emulation. With momentum on its side and tacit acceptance of its core claims via settlement agreement with Yuzu, Nintendo targeted key software tools underpinning emulation of its copyrighted games. Takedown notices eliminated dozens of repos containing tools...
RIAA and MPA Urge Court Not to Disarm the DMCA Subpoena Anti-Piracy Tool
Tackling online piracy is a complicated endeavor that often starts by identifying the operators of infringing sites and services. This is also where the first hurdles show up. Many pirates keep their identities concealed. This applies to the operators of sites and services as well as their users. This relative anonymity is a nuisance to anti-piracy groups, including the RIAA and MPA. While most online services refuse to voluntarily...
![Italy Approves Piracy Shield VPN/DNS Proposal, Risk of Prison For ISPs Intact [Updated]](https://www.cryptocabaret.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/football-senate-s-240x224.png)
Italy Approves Piracy Shield VPN/DNS Proposal, Risk of Prison For ISPs Intact [Updated]
In 2023, the Italian government passed new legislation that aimed to rid the country of illegal IPTV services and web-based streaming platforms. At least in part, this would be achieved by blocking their domain names and IP addresses via the now-infamous Piracy Shield system. To drive the message home, the law also introduced tougher criminal sanctions at the supply end of the market, with increased fines and custodial sentences on...
Google Wins Lawsuit Against Scammers Who ‘Weaponized’ DMCA Takedowns
The DMCA takedown process allows rightsholders to request the removal of infringing material from online platforms. It’s a powerful, widely-used tool that results in millions of URLs and links being taken down daily. While often justified, some DMCA takedown requests are questionable or even outright abusive. Google Sues DMCA Scammers Google is no stranger to DMCA abuse. The company has processed more than 9 billion takedown requests...
