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]
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...
Pirate IPTV Reseller Who Made Millions of Euros Sent to Prison For Eight Years
Like many of its European counterparts, Greece has a pirate site blocking program that receives regular updates through an administrative process. The first domains blocked by Greek ISPs (xrysoi.online, xrysoi.se and xrysoi.eu) were restricted in 2018 and the most recent (antenasports.ru, sporthd.me) were blocked this August, to a total of 655 domains in roughly six years. Greece also regularly blocks IP addresses, mostly to restrict...
Pirate IPTV Subscribers Warned They Face “Automated Fines”
As the financial stakes increase and rightsholders become increasingly desperate to suppress piracy, the nature of information delivered to the media demands scrutiny like never before. Almost all major announcements are geared to elicit a prescribed response, as part of an overall strategy to shape public opinion while delivering on various policy goals. Claims in Italy, that the Piracy Shield system would virtually eliminate piracy,...