After years of uncontrolled piracy, in 2019 authorities in Brazil teamed up with ICE and the US Department of Justice to launch Operation 404.
Described as a “milestone” for Brazil’s momentum in the fight against piracy, it was revealed that with assistance from overseas, 136 websites and 100 apps had been put out of action, either by domain suspension or site blocking measures.
Local agencies and anti-piracy groups including ANCINE (National Film Agency) and the National Council for the Fight Against Piracy (CNCP), were pleased with their work, although it was far from done.
Operation 404.1 Was Only the Beginning
Named after the well-known HTTP error indicating a currently unavailable website, Operation 404 would need to build on its early momentum. To understand the scale of the challenge, one only has to look at one of the earliest targets, Futemax, which remains active today despite years of blocks.
For the past six years, authorities and rightsholders in Brazil have continued to add Futemax-branded domains to Brazil’s secretive blocklist.
Whether Futemax, FutemaxHD, FutemaxBR or FutemaxTV variants, the domain-blocking Whac-A-Mole has seen commitment from both sides. At the time of writing, over 360 of these domains appear on the list, presumably at least some in connection with subsequent waves of Operation 404, which have generally taken place on an annual basis since 2019.
Ministry of Justice Announces 404.8
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) announced that phase Operation 404.8 was ‘carried out’ November 27, without clarifying that only a relatively small number of events and achievements presented to the media actually took place on that day. This approach to presentation has persisted from 404.1 to the present day but the volume of work as reported only really makes sense as part of a longer timeline.
In common with 404.5 (March 2023), 404.6 (November 2023) and 404.7 (September 2024), this year the Ministry reported an international effort in which local authorities collaborated with partners from Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and the United Kingdom.
This was Ecuador’s first direct appearance within Operation 404 but for the United States government, which has provided significant support right from the very beginning, there was no direct involvement.
The Ministry says that along with representatives from Mexico, the role of the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Commerce was to observe, in order to “learn about the methodology used in combating digital piracy.”
Much to Observe
The MJSP said a total of 44 search and seizure warrants were executed, which includes four preventive arrest warrants and three arrests in flagrante delicto in various Brazilian states. The Ministry says the aim was to identify and hold accountable the operators and various individuals behind an unspecified number of “pirate platforms.”
“Audio and video content, such as games and music, were removed,” the Ministry continued. “There was also the blocking and suspension of 535 websites and one illegal streaming application, in addition to the removal of thousands of pirated materials from repositories and social networks. In this phase, the focus broadened to reach the financing and monetization structures of these illegal services.”
In common with previous phases, the Ministry reported collaboration with local federal agencies. They include the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and the National Film Agency (Ancine), both of which are actively involved in having pirate websites blocked by local ISPs.
That raises questions over Brazil’s broader site-blocking regime that receives very little attention.
Operation 404 Blocking is a Fraction of Overall Blocking
On face value, the number of pirate domains blocked under Operation 404 is publicly reported. Given tendencies seen in the past, that include conflating the number of sites blocked with the number of domains, the overall figures may or may not provide a reasonable account of events on the ground.
Refusal to reveal exactly which platforms have been targeted are compounded by the secrecy surrounding Brazil’s primary blocklist, which is restricted and certainly not open for scrutiny. The same applies to the many orders handed down by judges that provide it with constant fuel.
The table below covering Operation 404.1 to 404.8 inclusive, suggests that since 2019, just over 3,000 ‘pirate’ domains have been blocked on copyright grounds as part of Operation 404.
Yet the country’s master blocklist currently contains over 30,000 entries. Since it also contains gambling site domains, the full list can’t be attributed purely to pirate sites.
Nevertheless, the number of sites/domains publicly declared as blocked is clearly just a drop in the ocean. Or, rather, it appears to be; for the last six years no domains have been mentioned in connection with Operation 404 blocking, which effectively rules out fact checking.
Even access to the list of blocked domains is quickly of limited use. Without all-important context, it’s ultimately just a big list of domains.
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Operation 404 receives cooperation from the following agencies, organizations, rightsholders, and anti-piracy partners:
[UK] City of London Police – Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU)
[UK] Intellectual Property Office (IPO),
[USA] U.S. Department of Justice
[USA] Department of Commerce
[Peru] National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI)
[UK] English Premier League
[Spain] LaLiga
[International] Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)
[Brazil] Brazilian Association of Pay Television (ABTA)
[LATAM] Alliance against Audiovisual Piracy (ALIANZA)
[Brazil] National Council to Combat Piracy (CNCP)
[Brazil] Association for the Protection of Intellectual and Phonographic Rights (APDIF)
[International] International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)
[International] Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
[USA] Motion Picture Association (MPA)
[Paraguay] National Directorate of Intellectual Property (DINAPI)
[Japan] Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA)
[S.Korea] Copyright Overseas Promotion Association (COA)
[Ecuador] National Intellectual Rights Service (SENDI)
[Ecuador] National Police
[Argentina] Specialized Fiscal Unit for Cybercrime Investigation (UFEIC)
[Argentina] Federal Police of Argentina (PFA)
[Paraguay] Specialized Unit for Punishable Acts Against Intellectual Property
[EU] European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
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