Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — February 2nd, 2026

Danish Students Face Legal Action and Fines Over Textbook Piracy
After "awareness" campaigns that failed to move the needle for years, Denmark's leading anti-piracy group is shifting to a more aggressive litigation strategy. The Rights Alliance confirmed it will begin filing civil lawsuits against individual students who are caught sharing even a single digital textbook. The anti-piracy group prefers not to mention the targeted platforms but says it uses undercover monitoring of private groups to gather evidence.
February 2, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 31st, 2026

Piracy Crackdown in Italy Shuts Down IPTV Services Ahead of Winter Olympics
In a massive international operation a week before the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Italian authorities have announced the dismantling of a global IPTV network. Dubbed "Operation Switch Off," the action targeted key infrastructure and a hierarchy of resellers that allegedly served millions of users worldwide.
January 31, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 30th, 2026

Operation Switch Off dismantles major pirate TV streaming services
The latest phase of the global law enforcement action resulted in seizing three industrial-scale illegal IPTV services.
January 30, 2026 — Source

Music publishers accuse Anthropic of pirating 20,000 songs in $3 billion lawsuit
Publishers call the alleged infringement "flagrant piracy"
January 30, 2026 — Source

One of the biggest manga piracy networks has been shut down
Bato's operator was reportedly making over $57,000 a month in illicit advertising revenue.
January 30, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 15th, 2026

‘NVIDIA Contacted Anna’s Archive to Secure Access to Millions of Pirated Books’
NVIDIA executives allegedly authorized the use of millions of pirated books from Anna's Archive to fuel its AI training. In an expanded class-action lawsuit that cites internal NVIDIA documents, several book authors claim that the trillion-dollar company directly reached out to Anna's Archive, seeking high-speed access to the shadow library data.
January 19, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 9th, 2026

Italy Fines Cloudflare €14 Million for Refusing to Block Pirate Sites on Public 1.1.1.1 DNS
Italy's communications regulator AGCOM imposed a record-breaking €14.2 million fine on Cloudflare after the company failed to implement the required piracy blocking measures. Cloudflare argued that filtering its global 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver would be "impossible" without hurting overall performance. AGCOM disagreed, noting that Cloudflare is not necessarily a neutral intermediary either.
January 9, 2026 — Source

X Sues Music Publishers Over "Weaponized" DMCA Takedown Conspiracy
Elon Musk's X Corp. filed a landmark antitrust complaint against the NMPA, Sony, Universal, and other major music publishers, claiming that they used a coordinated "extortionate campaign" to force licensing deals. The lawsuit alleges that a flood of "baseless" DMCA notices targeted over 200,000 posts and suspended 50,000 users, allegedly to coerce X to sign industry-wide agreements.
January 9, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 6th, 2026

GitHub Restores Repo of GTA Mod ‘Multi Theft Auto’ After Take-Two Fails to Sue
Multi Theft Auto (MTA), one of the longest-running and best known modding projects in gaming history, has officially returned to GitHub. The official repository disappeared last month following a takedown notice allegedly sent by Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, which alleged that the GTA project shared "leaked source code."
January 7, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 5th, 2026

Anna's Archive loses .org domain, says suspension likely unrelated to Spotify piracy
The primary domain of Shadow library Anna's Archive was taken offline, with annas-archive.org being put under the serverHold status. While Anna's Archive recently made waves with a massive "backup" of Spotify, the shadow library's operator said the music pirating doesn't appear to be connected to the .org domain suspension. Anna's Archive remains available at several other domains.
January 5, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 2nd, 2026

Hollywood, Netflix, and Apple Are Behind Latest Pirate 'Brand' Blockades in Belgium
New information obtained through a transparency request reveals that major movie industry players, including Disney, Apple, and Netflix, are behind the latest site-blocking effort in Belgium. While the involvement of these companies is hardly surprising, details in the previously unpublished court order show a targeted site-blocking strategy without the involvement of DNS resolvers.
January 2, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — January 1ST, 2026

Strike 3's Piracy Litigation Campaign Broke More Records in 2025
Strike 3's piracy litigation campaign reached new milestones in 2025, with over 4,000 cases filed in twelve months. While the vast majority of these still target individual BitTorrent users, the porn producer has also set its sights on Meta, one of the world's biggest tech firms. With hundreds of millions in potential damages, this case significantly raises the stakes.
January 1, 2026 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — December 26th, 2025

Legal Push to Unmask Minions 3 Leaker Targets YouTube and Reddit
NBCUniversal is doing all it can to identify the person(s) behind a series of high-profile leaks of the film Minions 3, which is scheduled to come out on July 1, 2026. Through DMCA subpoenas, both Google and Reddit are compelled to hand over the personal details of several account holders.
December 26, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — December 21st, 2025

Video Game Giants Suddenly Have RuTracker in their Crosshairs Again
RuTracker is not only Russia's largest torrent site, it's one of the oldest and most resilient pirate sites anywhere in the world. Most major entertainment companies have had issues with RuTracker at some point during its 21 years online, and those in the videogame sector are no exception. Under the umbrella of The ESA, some of the largest are now showing renewed interest in the torrent site veteran.
December 21, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — December 20th, 2025

9to5Mac Top Stories: iOS 26.3 beta, App Store changes, Apple Music features
Welcome to 9to5Mac's top stories of the week, where we recap the biggest news in the Apple world every Saturday. This week, we have the first beta of iOS 26.3, new details on the iPhone 18 and iPhone Fold, and more changes to the App Store.
December 20, 2025 — Source

A DMCA "Bot War": Google Search Processed 5 Billion Takedown Requests in 2025
Google Search has reached a staggering new DMCA takedown milestone, processing over five billion copyright removal requests in 2025. Driven by a massive automated reporting spike, mostly from Link-Busters, the total all-time count has now eclipsed 15.8 billion. Not all reported URLs are actually removed, however. In fact, many were not even indexed by Google to begin with, which is another side effect of the 'bot war'.
December 20, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — December 15th, 2025

Hollywood Warns: 'Extortionary' Codec Patent Fees Could Hike Streaming Subscription Prices
For decades, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has been Hollywood's main protector of intellectual property rights, especially when it relates to piracy. In a recent federal lawsuit, however, the roles are reversed. Siding with Disney, the MPA calls out alleged IP abuse and "extortionary" patent demands linked to the H.264 and H.265 codecs, which they fear might inflate subscription fees of streaming services.
December 15, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — December 12th, 2025

Google Removes Sci-Hub Domains from U.S. Search Results Due to Dated Court Order
Google has removed dozens of new Sci-Hub domain names from its search results in the United States. Unlike typical DMCA takedowns, the removals were triggered by a dated court order that was not enforced for several years. This appears to be one of the first times Google has deindexed an entire pirate site in the U.S. based on a 'site blocking' style injunction.
December 12, 2025 — Source

MKVCinemas: ACE Anti-Piracy Coalition Takes Credit For Sudden Shutdown
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment says it was behind the sudden closure of MKVCinemas, a popular India-based streaming site that disappeared unexpectedly last month. As part of the same operation, ACE says it also shut down a "cloning tool" that enabled pirates to share content in private while evading takedowns. Factor in drama from the iBomma shutdown, and Indian pirates have had quite the month.
December 12, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — December 5th, 2025

Belgium's Latest Pirate Site-Blocking Order Spares DNS Providers
The Brussels Business Court has issued a new site-blocking order, targeting popular pirate sites including 1337x and Soap2day. Surprisingly, this latest order only requires major ISPs to take action. This is a notable change, as the initial blocking order under this regime also required DNS resolvers to take action. Whether this is a formal retreat or merely a pause has yet to be seen.
December 5, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — December 3rd, 2025

DDoS Guard: LaLiga's Piracy Blocks Test Whether Anyone Will Protect the Internet
Internet infrastructure company DDoS-Guard is concerned by the power granted to Spain's LaLiga in its fight against piracy. Describing the scale of over-blocking as "astonishing", Dmitry Nikonov, Head of Web Application Protection, believes that LaLiga is becoming a private regulator, one with the authority to interfere with internet infrastructure. "Football matches have become the pretext for a large-scale internet experiment, testing whether there is anyone to protect its freedom."
December 3, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 30th, 2025

Pirate IPTV Box Evades Blocking But is Also Critically Vulnerable to Attack
Following Amazon's announcement that it won't allow the new Firestick to become a piracy free-for-all, some people are seeking out new devices to bridge the gap. Offering lifetime access to movies, TV shows and live sports, an already popular device that claims to evade site-blocking measures may seem like the perfect fit. Unfortunately, mandatory free extras include critical security issues and potential exposure to copyright lawsuits.
November 30, 2025 — Source

Supreme Court to look at big music piracy case
Should people lose internet access for pirating music?
November 30, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 29th, 2025

Yout and RIAA Clash in Court Over YouTube's Alleged Copyright Barriers
Is downloading a YouTube video a violation of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provision? That is the key question in the legal battle between stream-ripper Yout and the RIAA. Yout argues that because YouTube videos are freely accessible to anyone with a web browser, there are no restrictions. The RIAA counters that Yout is confusing the right to watch a stream with the right to download a copy of the music file.
November 29, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 26th, 2025

Share-Online Operator Gets Two Years Probation in Landmark 'Cyberlocker' Verdict
Six years after massive raids shut down the German cyberlocker Share-Online.biz, this week the site's operator was sentenced to a two-year suspended prison term. The case is seen as a landmark victory in Germany, as it indicates that operators of seemingly "neutral" cyberlocker platforms can be held liable. At the same time, €50 million in revenue and evaporated threats against users leave unanswered questions.
November 23, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 23rd, 2025

Cloudflare Says Piracy Liability Ruling Has Global Implications; Publishers Disagree
A ruling by a Tokyo court which holds Cloudflare liable for manga piracy is serious and could have global implications, the company says. Filed by manga publishers in 2022, the lawsuit criticized Cloudflare for providing services to the sites, despite the publishers' allegations. Cloudflare says the ruling undermines fairness and due process, but speaking with TorrentFreak, the publishers strongly disagree. They say their aims are straightforward, and the outcome is aligned with Cloudflare's pledge to combat piracy.
November 23, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 22nd, 2025

Anna's Archive 'WorldCat Scrape' Lawsuit Drops $5M Claim, Pivots to Takedown Tactic
OCLC is no longer looking for millions in damages from Anna's Archive, but has adopted a tactical "takedown" strategy instead. In a renewed motion for default judgment, the organization requests a permanent injunction, to restrain the shadow library from sharing WorldCat data. OCLC believes that an injunction would motivate third-party intermediaries to pull the plug on the site's infrastructure.
November 22, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 20th, 2025

EUIPO Study: Major Brand Ads on Pirate Sites Surged 567%
A new report published by the EU Intellectual Property Office reveals an alarming 567% surge in major brand advertising on pirate sites, which is linked to the termination of industry outreach programs. However, a closer look at the data reveals an even more spectacular finding that's largely overlooked. Since 2021, total ad impressions on pirate sites have plummeted by 80%.
November 20, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 14th, 2025

DISH Wins $42M Default Judgment Against "DMCA-Ignored" Host Virtual Systems
A complaint coordinated by anti-piracy group IBCAP and filed at a Seattle court by DISH Network in 2024, saw Ukraine-based hosting provider Virtual Systems accused of inaction against pirate IPTV services, despite receiving over 500 DMCA notices. In a judgment handed down this week against Virtual Systems and its owner individually, ignoring DMCA notices and failing to appear came at a high price; $42 million, a significant but reasonable amount according to the judge.
November 14, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 13th, 2025

Happy Fire Stick Crackdown Malware Armageddon Month
It appears that Fire Stick Crackdown Malware Armageddon Month is upon us once again. While there is legitimate news, including Amazon's updated anti-piracy policy, a steady stream of clickbait makes it difficult to properly value every announcement. Unfortunately, desensitization is real, and when people decide to block out the noise, it may take years before they start listening again. By then, it may be too late.
November 13, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 7th, 2025

Judge Eviscerates Motions For ISPs to Unmask 2,400 Alleged Hellboy Pirates
Despite setbacks in similar cases, movie companies keep returning to Canada's Federal Court hoping to unmask alleged BitTorrent pirates before pursuing cash settlements. A claim filed in March 2025 aimed to identify over 2,400 customers of ISPs Bell, Cogeco and Telus, after they allegedly pirated the movie Hellboy: The Crooked Man. Citing a series of critical failures, a Federal Court judge has declined to issue an unmasking order.
November 7, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 6th, 2025

Cloudflare Tells U.S. Govt That Foreign Site Blocking Efforts Are Digital Trade Barriers
In a submission for the 2026 National Trade Estimate Report, Cloudflare warns the U.S. government that site blocking efforts cause widespread disruption to legitimate services. The complaint points to Italy's automated Piracy Shield system, which reportedly blocked "tens of thousands" of legitimate sites. Meanwhile, overbroad IP address blocks in Spain and new automated blocking proposals in France are serious concerns that harm U.S. business interests, Cloudflare reports.
November 6, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — November 5th, 2025

Pirate IPTV Empire Goes Dark in Brazil, Marketing the Common Denominator
Early September, a massive law enforcement operation in Argentina targeted a global IPTV piracy network's business in Latin America. The aim was to shut down dozens of branded services including My Family Cinema, TV Express and Eppi Cinema, that were being targeted at the Brazilian market. With surprisingly few concerns that reliability of IPTV services could nosedive, last weekend that's exactly what happened in Brazil.
November 5, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 31st, 2025

IPTV Anti-Piracy Demands Are Bad For ISPs, Spell Disaster for User Privacy & Security
A huge coalition of rightsholders with collective revenues running to hundreds of billions of euros, is demanding legislative action to tackle live event piracy in the EU. In a letter to the European Commission, major rightsholders and broadcasters demand three legislative measures. They represent new burdens and liabilities for intermediaries, a potential disaster for privacy-first VPN providers, and risk undermining privacy and security for everyone in EU member states.
October 31, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 30th, 2025

Nintendo Wins Lawsuit Against Defiant 'Pirate' Streamer 'EveryGameGuru'
Nintendo has secured a final default judgment against Jesse Keighin, aka 'EveryGameGuru'. The gaming giant sued Keighin in 2024 after he streamed pirated copies of pre-release games. In correspondence with Nintendo's legal team, Keighin was initially defiant, but failed to defend the case against him. A Colorado federal court has now ordered the streamer to pay $17,500 in damages but refused to issue an injunction against unnamed "third parties" or order the "destruction" of circumvention devices.
October 30, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 26th, 2025

The Streaming Piracy Crisis Suppressant That Nobody Wants To Discuss
History has shown that if the source of pirated content isn't eliminated, one way or another it will simply reappear somewhere else. Targeting consumer-facing streaming sites does cause disruption, but not as much as targeting the supplier of their streams. Or targeting that supplier's supplier and then hitting the supplier above them. Effective in theory, perhaps, but in the world of 'CDN leeching', pirate streams and legal streams share the same supplier.
October 26, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 25th, 2025

Proposal to Prevent LaLiga Site-Blocking Hurting Innocent Sites Rejected in Spain
A proposal calling for the Spanish government to protect innocent websites from pirate site overblocking has been rejected. The proposal before the Congressional Committee on Economy, Trade, and Digital Transformation, recognized that football league LaLiga needs to protect its rights, but said safeguards are necessary after the wrongful blocking of thousands of third-party websites.
October 25, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 24th, 2025

UEFA Joins Anti-Piracy Coalition ACE to Protect Growing Revenues from Piracy Surge
European football's governing body, UEFA, has joined global anti-piracy coalition ACE. The move will help the Champions League organizer to more effectively tackle live streaming piracy. While sports piracy is a growing problem, UEFA has also seen a spectacular increase in revenues. This has resulted in costly, fragmented subscriptions for fans, which some see as a primary driver for the very piracy UEFA is trying to defeat.
October 24, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 20th, 2025

IPTV Pirates May Soon Be Named and Shamed, Italian Minister Says
Having established itself as a moving and unpredictable target, it's widely accepted that piracy cannot be defeated using a single tool. Italy's toolbox is one of the most comprehensive available, having just added the ability to effectively fine IPTV pirates twice for the same offense. According to Italy's Minister for Sport and Youth, pirates may soon face the prospect of being named and shamed.
October 20, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 15th, 2025

Reddit Banned 709 Subreddits for Repeat Copyright Violations in First Half of 2025
Reddit banned 709 subreddits for repeat copyright infringement in the first half of the year. While this is more than double compared to the same period last year, in the grander scheme of removals it's just a speck on the radar. The same holds true for the 837 redditors whose accounts were terminated over copyright violations.
October 15, 2025 — Source

Y2Mate.com Among a Dozen YouTube Rippers Shut Down By IFP
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is celebrating the shutdown of YouTube-ripping giant Y2Mate.com and 11 similar platforms. IFPI says that during the last 12 months alone, the twelve domains received over 620 million visits from a global audience. The Y2Mate brand has been a thorn in the side of the record labels for years and has been 'permanently' shut down at least once before. Circumstances suggest that the final curtain may prove elusive.
October 15, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 13th, 2025

Anti-Piracy Firm Threatens ICANN with Lawsuit Over .to Domain Piracy
Anti-piracy firm Warezio is threatening Internet governance body ICANN with an unfair competition lawsuit for failing to take action against alleged piracy-enabling domain registries. The Czech outfit specifically highlights the .to registry as problematic, noting that it lacks transparency and accountability. The legal threat challenges ICANN's long-standing position that it lacks authority over ccTLD operators.
October 13, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 10th, 2025

Pinterest Accused of Sending 'False' DMCA Claims to Delist Downloader From Google
With the aim of making popular Pinterest downloader Pintere.com more difficult to find, the social media giant sent DMCA anti-circumvention notices to Google Search. Pintere.com URLs subsequently disappeared from Google's indexes, provoking a response from the site's operator. In correspondence with Google, Pintere.com accuses Pinterest of filing "false" claims and requests that its domain is immediately restored.
October 10, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 8th, 2025

Internet Archive Ordered to Block Books in Belgium After Talks With Publishers Fail
After initially avoiding external blocking measures, the Internet Archive must block access to various books in its Open Library project under the orders of a Belgian government department. While the final decision avoids a full site blockade, it forces the U.S. non-profit to implement country-specific censorship or face a €500,000 penalty, raising questions about the use of anti-piracy frameworks to settle complex copyright disputes.
October 8, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — October 3rd, 2025

MPA Highlights Rapidly Expanding "Hydra Sites" as an Emerging Piracy Problem
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has released its 2025 overview of the world's most notorious piracy markets, presenting a detailed picture of an ever-evolving landscape. In its submission to the U.S. Trade Representative, the Hollywood group coins the term "hydra sites" to describe a new wave of one-stop-shop piracy websites that offer frictionless, browser-based access to pirated content, free of charge.
October 3, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — September 29th, 2025

Men Who Uploaded Movies to Extract Cash From Pirates Have Been Acquitted
Six men have been acquitted for their part in a highly organized 'copyright-trolling' operation. After two movie companies were offered 20% of the spoils from the scheme, their movies were downloaded from BitTorrent and then seeded to downloaders who were subsequently sued. The acquittals overturn guilty verdicts handed down by a lower court.
September 29, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — September 22nd, 2025

Piracy Over-Blocking Victims Turn to the Blockchain Hoping to Make LaLiga Pay
When pirate sports streaming sites use Cloudflare, Spain's LaLiga has a choice between blocking pirate sites and countless innocent sites using the same IP addresses, or walking away having blocked nothing at all. Having opted for the former since February, sites blocked as collateral damage have had no viable opportunity to fight back. The Immutable Domain Monitor, a new blockchain-powered platform designed to empower victims of over-blocking, aims to change that.
September 22, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — September 19th, 2025

Filmmaker Tries to Unmask Private Torrent Tracker Owners through Cloudflare
Through a DMCA subpoena directed at Cloudflare, an independent filmmaker is trying to uncover the identities of people connected to several prominent private torrent trackers. The legal paperwork was obtained at a California federal court and targets HDbits, PassThePopcorn, BroadcasTheNet, KaraGarga, and others. The information was requested for copyright protection purposes, without clarifying what this would entail.
September 19, 2025 — Source

Previously-Convicted IPTV Pirates Arrested For Running $10m IPTV66 Service
In a major anti-piracy crackdown dubbed "Operation Domo," authorities in the Dominican Republic targeted an IPTV service that allegedly generated $10 million in revenue. The sting, supported by ACE and U.S. authorities, resulted in the arrest of four suspects who were reportedly convicted for similar piracy crimes in the U.S. just a few years ago. Whether the operation was effectively dismantled remains unclear, as a key IPTV66 domain remains online.
September 19, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — September 5th, 2025

U.S. Gov’t & Tech Giants Unite Against ISP Piracy Liability Ruling at Supreme Court
U.S. Gov’t & Tech Giants Unite Against ISP Piracy Liability Ruling at Supreme Court
September 9, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — September 5th, 2025

Behind the Curtain: The Three-Year Journey to the Block BEARD Site Blocking Act
The Block BEARD Site-Blocking Act, recently introduced to address foreign piracy in the United States, did not emerge from a vacuum. It is the result of a multi-year effort that began with a non-public proposal in 2022. This initial version became stranded when stakeholders were unable to reach an agreement, but remnants of the early proposal remain visible today.
September 5, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — September 4th, 2025

Threat Intelligence Researchers "Uncover a Massive Pirate IPTV Operation"
Researchers at threat intelligence platform Silent Push claim to have uncovered a massive pirate IPTV operation. Hosted across more than 1,000 domains and 10,000 IP addresses, the network reportedly exploits content owned by Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Premier League and many others. The identification of an individual and companies in Afghanistan is somewhat unexpected.
September 4, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — September 1st, 2025

Cox Brief Asks Supreme Court to Reverse Draconian Piracy Liability Ruling
Cox Communications has filed its Supreme Court brief in a high-stakes legal battle with the major record labels, seeking to overturn a landmark $1 billion verdict. The company argues it should not be held liable for its customers' piracy activities simply for providing internet access. The lower court's ruling would turn ISPs into an "internet police" force, Cox says, in a landmark case that has broad implications for all U.S. ISPs and their subscribers.
September 1, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 29th, 2025

U.S. Recommends 57-Month Prison Sentence in 'Spider-Man' Piracy and Firearm Case
The U.S. government has recommended a lengthy prison sentence for a former employee of a disc manufacturing company. He previously admitted stealing and distributing numerous DVD and Blu-ray discs, including 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'. The recommendation is largely based on an unconnected firearm charge, not copyright infringement. The MPA has requested to speak at the sentencing hearing, noting that the movie studio victims likely lost tens of millions of dollars.
August 29, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 25th, 2025

'Leaked' Prerelease Films Were Shared on Vimeo by Industry Insiders
Screener and pre-release copies of numerous films that leaked online recently were not the result of a sophisticated hack. New evidence reveals that several of these films were already publicly accessible for weeks or months previously, after being shared by industry insiders on the video platform Vimeo.
August 25, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 22nd, 2025

Lithuanian Regulator Clashes With Data Firm Over "Misleading" Piracy Stats
Lithuania's broadcasting regulator (LRTK) challenges the accuracy of data reported by piracy tracking firm MUSO, which is the main input for key EUIPO reports. Citing flaws such as the inclusion of legal sites and an inability to track VPN or IPTV use, LRTK argues that its country is being unfairly portrayed as a piracy leader. In response, MUSO says the LRTK's statements are themselves misleading and the company demands a correction.
August 22, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 21st, 2025

Alleged Pirate Site Operator Arrested, Family Crowdfunds "David versus Goliath" Defense
With millions of monthly visits, sports streaming service 'Al Ángulo TV' was a massive success. The operator of the service, who wasn't shy about appearing in public, was very active on social media. This brazen stance didn't go unnoticed by rights holders. This week, Argentinian authorities arrested the alleged operator, Alejo Leonel Warles, who now faces a criminal prosecution. His family is reportedly backing a fundraiser to aid a "David versus Goliath" defense.
August 21, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 19th, 2025

'Ad Blocking is Not Piracy' Decision Overturned By Top German Court
German publisher Axel Springer, owner of brands including Bild and Die Welt, has been given another opportunity to have ad blocking outlawed on copyright grounds. After a series of defeats in its years-long legal action against the makers of Adblock Plus, the publisher appealed to the Federal Court of Justice. Germany's top court has now overturned a 2023 ruling by the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, referring the case back for reconsideration of the core issues.
August 19, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 17th, 2025

Sky's Piracy=Malware Campaign Aims For 'Holy Grail' of Behavioral Change
Since September 2023, a national campaign run by Sky and entertainment partners has attempted to convince illegal stream consumers to dump them in favor of platforms operating on the right side of the law. To encourage that important step, the BeStreamWise campaign focuses on the dangers of piracy; malware, credit card fraud, the risk of 'letting criminals in'. Through use of a particular model, the campaign hopes to achieve "the Holy Grail of behavioral change."
August 17, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 11th, 2025

Best VPNs for torrenting: 5 top picks for speed, privacy, and security
Stay safe while torrenting with these top VPN picks.
August 11, 2025 — Source

Netflix, Amazon & Hollywood Win $15M Judgment Against U.S. Pirate IPTV Operator
A California man has been ordered to pay $15 million in damages for operating the pirate IPTV service 'Outer Limits'. After the defendant failed to respond to a lawsuit brought by a coalition of Hollywood studios, Netflix, and Amazon, a district court judge in California awarded the maximum statutory damages for willful copyright infringement.
August 11, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 10th, 2025

Fines For Greek Pirate IPTV Users €750-€5,000, Double For Repeat Infringers
The details of a new procedure for imposing and collecting administrative fines for intellectual property offenses has been published in Greece. At the bottom end of the scale, fines for accessing pirated content such as pirate IPTV streams, start at €750 per violation, increasing to €5,000 if use is commercial. For repeat offenses, fines double to €1,500 and €5,000 respectively.
August 10, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 9th, 2025

Publishing Giants Escalate War on 'Shadow Libraries' With Broad Cloudflare Subpoena
Major academic publishers, including Elsevier and Springer Nature, are trying to unmask the operators of several shadow libraries including Anna's Archive, Z-Library and Libgen. They're also targeting SLUM, a third-party uptime monitor for these unofficial libraries. A DMCA subpoena, issued by a D.C. federal court, requires Cloudflare to hand over identifying user data for possible legal action.
August 9, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 8th, 2025

MovieBox is Still Alive and Preparing to Fight Intellectual Property Thieves
Reports that the Nigerian Copyright Commission had recently shut down a pirate site didn't sound especially interesting. Operating under MovieBox branding, currently seen on endless domains, the local site reportedly received over 130 million visits in the previous three months and was actually still in business. Indeed, plans to develop the MovieBox brand began last month, with an application for intellectual property protection underpinning all kinds of business opportunities.
August 8, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 4th, 2025

Canadian Court Rejects Reverse Class Action Lawsuit Against BitTorrent Pirates
After years of legal skirmishes, an ambitious strategy by film studio Voltage Pictures, to sue alleged BitTorrent pirates through a reverse class action in Canada, has been permanently shut down. The Federal Court of Appeal ruled that these cases, where IP addresses are the main initial evidence, are unsuited to this legal approach. Furthermore, the proposed methods for mass notification are deemed unlawful.
August 4, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 2nd, 2025

Pirate IPTV Operator Destroys Evidence Then Agrees to Pay Sky €580,000
A man described by Sky as a "top level" pirate has agreed to pay the broadcaster €480,000 in damages. Sky's investigation of David Dunbar reportedly began on social media last November, but soon benefited from a timely anonymous tip from another country. In May 2025, Sky obtained a court order to secure evidence from Dunbar's home, but that didn't go according to plan. After being denied access to the premises, evidence was destroyed and funds were "dissipated".
August 2, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — August 1st, 2025

Belgium Targets Internet Archive's 'Open Library' in Sweeping Site Blocking Order
The Business Court in Brussels, Belgium, has issued a broad site-blocking order that aims to restrict access to shadow libraries including Anna's Archive, Libgen, OceanofPDF, Z-Library, and the Internet Archive's Open Library. In addition to ISP blocks, the order also directs search engines, DNS resolvers, advertisers, domain name services, CDNs and hosting companies to take action. For now, Open Library doesn't appear to be actively blocked.
August 1, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 29th, 2025

'Fair Use' Prevails as Library of Congress Wins DMCA Anti-Circumvention Battle
Medical device associations behind a lawsuit challenging a Library of Congress exemption to the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions, have failed to have the exemption ruled illegal. Motions for summary judgment from both sides went in favor of the defendants after a district court judge found that the exemption, granted for the maintenance and repair of medical devices, permits a non-infringing, transformative fair use.
July 29, 2025 — Source

The Risks of Pirate Site Blocking, Who Benefits, Who Pays, And at What Cost?
With site-blocking legislation currently under discussion in the United States, a new report examines site blocking measures elsewhere in the world. Commissioned by Cloudflare, the report warns that a patchwork of measures risks disruption to the internet's global technical infrastructure. It also questions whether the claimed benefits are worth the risk in the bigger picture.
July 29, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 27th, 2025

ACE & MPA Continued to Scoop Up Pirate Domains in Bulk During Q2 2025
In Q2 2025, anti-piracy coalition Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment continued to 'seize' domains in bulk, adding to the world's largest collection of former pirate domains maintained by the MPA. While the archive contains countless unique and memorable domains, many with interesting and informative backstories, new additions illustrate typical responses to site blocking measures and very little else.
July 27, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 25th, 2025

Copyright Lawsuit Accuses Meta of Pirating Adult Films for AI Training
Adult film producers Strike 3 Holdings and Counterlife Media have filed a significant copyright infringement lawsuit against tech giant Meta. A complaint filed at a California federal court alleges that their films were downloaded via BitTorrent for AI training purposes. With at least 2,396 movies at stake, potential damages could exceed 350 million dollars.
July 25, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 22nd, 2025

Pirate Service 'MagisTV' Fails to Secure U.S. Trademark, Faces Malware Backlash
MagisTV, a leading pirate streaming brand in Latin America, finds itself caught between a legal storm and a mounting malware backlash. This week, the service saw its U.S. trademark application abandoned amidst growing scrutiny from authorities and rightsholders worldwide. At the same time, a barrage of local news reports warn consumers that using MagisTV's software could lead to identity theft and expose them to viruses.
July 22, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 19th, 2025

Former #1 Movie Piracy Site "Strongly Linked" to Global Infostealer Activity
Earlier this year, Microsoft published a report on an infostealer malware campaign identified as stemming from pirate streaming sites. With one million user devices infected, the potential for damage is clearly enormous but the threat isn't new. Data sourced from specialist breach databases reveals that Fmovies, the world's most popular pirate streaming site before its closure in 2024, was "strongly linked" to Infostealer activity targeting users worldwide.
July 19, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 18th, 2025

Pair Behind 400 Block-Evading Pirate Porn Sites Face Prosecution
Law enforcement authorities in Vietnam will prosecute the operators of around 400 pirate sites offering pornographic content. Such material is illegal in Vietnam and the authorities say the men made large profits from visitors viewing lucrative advertising. Also of note are claims that the men circumvented blocking measures at ISPs either owned by, or closely connected to, the government.
July 18, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 17th, 2025

Pirate Site Blockades Get Judicial Scrutiny in Germany, But No Transparency?
Germany's voluntary pirate site blocking regime has undergone a fundamental change, now requiring judicial oversight for all blocking actions. The participants will rely on court orders going forward, instead of their own recommendations. While the change ensures a proper review of blocking requests, it does not necessarily make the blockades more transparent for the public.
July 17, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 14th, 2025

Helix IPTV Owner Sentenced to 3 Years Prison For Piracy & Money Laundering
Arrested in 2019 following an investigation by the UK's Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, the former owner of pirate IPTV service Helix Hosting has just been sentenced to three years in prison by a court in the UK. Stephen Woodward, 36, reportedly generated around £1 million in revenue from three services, with offending that reportedly continued after his initial arrest.
July 14, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 12th, 2025

Google Says SCOTUS Decision in Cox versus Sony Will Impact Publishers' Lawsuit
A lawsuit, filed by several publishers in 2024, accused Google of not doing enough to prevent piracy while simultaneously profiting from it. A recent success for Google led to the dismissal of the publishers' vicarious liability claim, leaving a claim for contributory infringement to be decided. In a letter to the court on Thursday, counsel for Google requested a stay, pending the Supreme Court's decision in Cox versus Sony, and a "potentially dispositive" impact on the case.
July 12, 2025 — Source

Nintendo Switch pirates sunk by the FBI as they seize the site for hosting pirated games — American and Dutch authorities take down NSW2U.com
Nintendo Switch pirates sunk by the FBI as they seize the site for hosting pirated games — American and Dutch authorities take down NSW2U.com
July 12, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 11th, 2025

Australia's Pirate Site Blocking Regime is Methodical -- But is it Fast Enough?
Some rightsholders in the EU are now demanding blocking of pirated live streams, no later than 10 minutes after notification. In Australia, extreme 'live' blocking doesn't yet exist, but even dynamic blocking delays can be measured in days rather than minutes. A blocking order handed down this week took 90 days to navigate through a system designed to respect everyone's rights. Is that too slow? Or simply how long it takes to get things right.
July 11, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 10th, 2025

FBI Seizes Gaming Piracy Domains Including 'Pre-Release' Target NSW2U
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seized the domain names of several gaming-related pirate sites, including NSW2U.com, which has been Nintendo's nemesis for years. The operation was carried out in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, including the Dutch fiscal police. It is not immediately clear whether the action is linked to any arrests or indictments.
July 10, 2025 — Source

Sci-Hub's Crypto Coin Aims to Power a New Era of 'Open' Science
Sci-Hub has launched its own SCI token through which it hopes to unlock more paywalled research. The controversial shadow library, which is used by millions of researchers around the globe, sees this as the next step to decentralize science and reward knowledge sharing. Whether this pirate 'tokenomics' works in practice has yet to be seen.
July 10, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — July 7th, 2025

Best VPNs for torrenting: 5 top picks for speed, privacy, and security
Stay safe while torrenting with these top VPN picks.
July 7, 2025 — Source

Sky TV Piracy Pair Arrested & IPTV Servers Seized After UK Police Raids
Following an operation carried out last Thursday but reported just this morning, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit at City of London Police says it shut down a number of servers and arrested two people in a series of raids. A man and a woman in their 30s were arrested near to Birmingham and police say they disrupted several IPTV services after targeting a datacenter in Cheltenham.
July 7, 2025 — Source

Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week -- 07/14/2025
Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Thunderbolts' tops the chart, followed by 'Ballerina'. 'Karate Kid: Legends' completes the top three.
July 7, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 30th, 2025

Supreme Court Grants Cox's Bid to Reexamine Liability for Pirating Subscribers
The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will take up a landmark piracy liability lawsuit between Cox Communications and several record labels. The Court granted Cox's petition for a writ of certiorari. It review the contributory infringement standards that determine how ISPs should respond to pirating subscribers, as well as the associated willfulness finding. The record labels' cross-petition was denied.
June 30, 2025 — Source

Tanggula 'Free Forever' IPTV Boxes Keep Costing Sellers Big Money
With an upfront payment starting around $200, buyers can pick up a set-top box and an IPTV subscription that lasts forever, at least as far as the sales pitch is concerned. Thanks to pervasive affiliate marketing, one of the most visible brands right now is Tanggula. Less visible are mounting lawsuits against Tanngula vendors, including a new complaint that strikes beyond local sellers.
June 30, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 29th, 2025

New VPN Service Can't Log Users by Design
VPN providers typically offer security and privacy as a service. They make it difficult for outsiders, including ISPs, to monitor users' activities. Instead, they require subscribers to trust them with their online traffic. VP.net, a new provider, takes a different approach. The company promises 'cryptographically verifiable privacy' by using special hardware 'safes' (Intel SGX), so even the provider can't track what its users are up to. Trust in technology and hardware is still required, of course.
June 29, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 28th, 2025

Amazon Remote Disables Piracy Apps Sideloaded on Fire TV Devices
Over the past 18 months, media reports concerning live sports piracy have systematically demonized the Fire TV Stick, hoping to pressure Amazon into action against pirate apps. Amazon doesn't allow infringing apps on its official store, so users manually sideload apps available elsewhere on the internet. In a rare event earlier this week, at least two pirate apps sideloaded by users onto Fire TV devices, were remotely and irreversibly disabled by Amazon.
June 28, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 25th, 2025

€850K IPTV Piracy Haul Ends in 4+ Years in Prison & 6,000 Users Facing Fines
Last month, Italian authorities issued fines to more than 2,200 subscribers of a pirate IPTV service busted in October 2024. Another service, Italia TV, was dismantled last December and its main operator has just been sent to prison for 52 months. For the service's 6,000 subscribers, news that an additional prosecutor has been working to identify them is a negative. In Italy, similar cases appear to be backing up.
June 25, 2025 — Source

ACE Shuts Down Filma24, Albania's Movie Piracy Juggernaut
For many thousands of Albanians, Filma24 was the top destination for pirated movies and TV shows. This weekend, however, that routine came to an abrupt halt when the site and many of its backup domains went offline. All signs point to an intervention from anti-piracy group ACE and parent organization the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which is the new owner of Filma24's domain names.
June 25, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 23rd, 2025

Pirate IPTV “Shock Block” Operations Boost France ISP Blocking +146%
Telecoms and audiovisual regulator Arcom has revealed that the number of pirate 'services' blocked in France has more than doubled each year since 2022. "Shock Block" operations targeting 250+ IPTV services at once are partly responsible for a 146% rise in domains blocked in 2024. Arcom still hasn't forgotten BitTorrent, far from it; rightsholders filed 2.3 million complaints last year, of which 1,610 cases were referred to the prosecutor.
June 23, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 22nd, 2025

Sky Views Personal Data as a Potential Weapon in IPTV Piracy War
Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) says it has been "engaging with Sky for some time" over the use of personal data to crackdown on streaming piracy, including IPTV services accessed via set-top boxes. Ongoing engagement and a meeting between the DPC and Sky in two weeks time, will focus on the lawful sharing or processing of personal data outside the company under the GDPR.
June 22, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 21st, 2025

Sports Piracy Damages Soar in Italy Despite 'Piracy Shield' Blocking Efforts
Despite blocking thousands of illegal streaming sites and services, Italy's new anti-piracy law and the related 'Piracy Shield' blocking system have a limited effect on piracy rates. Meanwhile, new data shows that the damages suffered by sports rightsholders continue to soar. On the positive side, public awareness of the new anti-piracy law is widespread.
June 21, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 18th, 2025

Google Receives Piracy Shield Orders to Block Pirate Sites in Public DNS
Italian telecoms regulator AGCOM has regularly criticized Google over its anti-piracy efforts, but the signs suggest that change is on the way. AGCOM says a system activated last month, relayed blocking orders received by the Piracy Shield anti-piracy system, directly to Google, which "promptly" blocked pirate site domains on its public DNS resolver. AGCOM says the system should be fully operational "as soon as possible" but warns that Google will still have to do more.
June 18, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 16th, 2025

The 'Superlative' Injunction: India's Pirate Site Blockades Go Next Level
The High Court in New Delhi, India, has granted a new type of pirate site blocking order, dubbed the "superlative" injunction. The blocking order was obtained by Star India, a subsidiary of American entertainment giant Disney. It aims to disrupt IPTV Smarters Pro and related pirate sites and apps in 'real-time', with a temporary carte blanche to add new targets.
June 16, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 13th, 2025

France Escalates War on Sports Piracy with Real-Time IP Blocking
The French Senate has passed a new anti-piracy bill that opens the door to automated IP-address blocking. This legislative push is bolstered by a parallel, "secret" agreement between sports rightsholders and major ISPs, which aims to automate anti-piracy efforts and streamline direct blocking requests. Rightsholders hope these new powers will help to tackle the "mafia-like" piracy economy.
June 13, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 9th, 2025

Grande Slams Labels' "Egregious" Piracy Claims in Final Supreme Court Plea
Can internet service providers be held liable for pirating subscribers? This question is at the center of several federal lawsuits in the U.S. and could soon be taken on by the Supreme Court. This week, ISP Grande Communications urged the Court to accept its petition, characterizing an opposing call from music companies as an attempt to "blatantly rewrite the record."
June 9, 2025 — Source

ICANN's DNS Blocking Report Presents Three Key Recommendations
ICANN, the organization responsible for ensuring the stability of the internet's Domain Name System (DNS), has published advice for all entities involved in DNS blocking. Three key recommendations arrive as part of a comprehensive report from ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) on the technical means of DNS blocking and its effects - both intended and unintended.
June 9, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 6th, 2025

Napster.com Faced ISP Piracy Blockade For "Massive Copyright Violations"
Twenty-six years ago this week, Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker launched Napster, a music sharing platform that disrupted a global industry. After being sued and declaring bankruptcy, today's Napster is a legal streaming brand. Yet, in a recent complaint, a royalty collection outfit accused Napster of "massive" copyright violations. The aim was to have the site's domain blocked by every ISP in Italy, effectively denying its ability to do business there.
June 6, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — June 3rd, 2025

MPA Backs Automated Pirate Site-Blocking, Sees Role for VPN and CDN Companies
The Motion Picture Association sees automated, real-time, and dynamic site blocking mechanisms as a key tool to fight online piracy. In response to an inquiry from the European Commission, reviewing its recommendation to combat live-streaming piracy, the MPA further notes that VPN companies and CDN providers should be actively involved.
June 3, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 30th, 2025

Brazil Advances Criminal Prosecution of American Yout.com Operator
Popular stream-ripping site Yout.com has failed to have a criminal copyright complaint dismissed in Brazil. The prosecution will be allowed to continue its copyright claim against the American operator of the site, who faces a potential prison sentence. The court notes that the defense has strong arguments, but the burden of
May 30, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 28th, 2025

LaLiga's "Precise" Blocking Cut Piracy By 40-60%, "Without Collateral Impact"
After months of unprecedented site-blocking controversy, LaLiga informs TorrentFreak that piracy decreased by 40% at weekends and as much as 60% for a hotly-anticipated matchup. Yet interestingly, LaLiga's view of the nationwide overblocking crisis sits in stark contrast to reports published elsewhere. Primarily, there's no hard evidence that a crisis even exists; total formal complaints received by LaLiga in its dedicated inbox: zero.
May 28, 2025 — Source

U.S. Govt. Backs Cox in Landmark Supreme Court Battle Over ISP Piracy Liability
The U.S. Solicitor General has urged the Supreme Court to accept Cox Communications' petition in a landmark piracy liability lawsuit. The USSG argues that ISPs are not necessarily liable for pirating subscribers and warns that the current precedent may lead to disconnections for many innocent subscribers. At the same time, the USSG urged the court to deny a petition from the opposing music companies, which seeks to expand the current liability verdict.
May 28, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 27th, 2025

Musi Alleges Apple's App Store Removal Was Orchestrated, Seeks Sanctions
The legal dispute between Apple and music streaming app Musi has taken another unexpected turn. Following Apple's motion for sanctions, which dismissed Musi's allegations that a backroom deal was responsible for the app's removal, Musi has countered with a detailed overview of communications between Apple, YouTube, and music industry officials, while also calling for sanctions.
May 27, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 23rd, 2025

EU Piracy Watchlist Adds IPFS, FitGirl and Njalla
The European Commission has published the fourth edition of its 'Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List', providing a detailed overview of piracy-linked sites and services located outside the EU. Aside from many familiar names such as The Pirate Bay, the report also flags the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) as a piracy threat. Game repacker FitGirl and domain registration service Njalla also make the list, with the latter surprisingly branded as an 'off-the-shelf piracy facilitation service'
May 23, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 22nd, 2025

YouTube Processed 2.2 Billion Content ID Copyright Claims in 2024
YouTube's Content ID system processed a record-breaking 2.2 billion copyright claims in 2024, with automated detection accounting for more than 99% of the total. According to YouTube, rightsholders chose to monetize the content in the overwhelming majority of claims. Revenue paid out to content creators and owners through the Content ID system now exceeds $12 billion since inception.
May 22, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 13th, 2025

"Never Terminate" Policy: Music Labels Slam Grande's Supreme Court Piracy Appeal
Major music companies have fired back at Grande Communications' Supreme Court plea, arguing that the ISP's questions about copyright liability are "utterly divorced from reality". They note that the ISP's liability is not the result of shortcomings in copyright law, but from Grande's own "egregious" policy of never terminating even the most rampant infringers.
May 13, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 9th, 2025

Pirate IPTV Owner and 7 Associates "Stole TV Signals" From Bell & Rogers
A year after avoiding arrest in Canada, alleged pirate IPTV owner eric Grenier traveled back from Venezuela on Tuesday before appearing at the Trois-Rivières courthouse the next day. He faces ten charges in connection with the alleged theft of TV signals from Bell, Rogers and Quebecor, and the sale of illegal set-top boxes via Arubox TV and Stocker IPTV. A total of seven co-defendants face charges in the same case.
May 9, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 6th, 2025

Musi Faked UMG Email to Stay on App Store, Apple Claims in Sanctions Motion
The legal dispute between Apple and the iOS Musi app has escalated, with Apple seeking sanctions over allegedly false claims made by the developer after its App Store removal. Apple contests Musi's assertion of a "backchannel" scheme, citing evidence gathered during discovery. Underscoring its claims of dishonesty, Apple details how Musi allegedly regained App Store access in 2020 by fraudulently impersonating a UMG executive.
May 6, 2025 — Source

Spotify now shows how many times people listened to podcast episodes
YouTube continues to dominate the podcasting space, but Spotify is actively working to close the gap. The latest development: a new feature that lets users see how many times an audio-only or video podcast episode has been actively listened to or watched.
May 6, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 5th, 2025

Swedish IPTV Crackdown Tested as Users Seek Workarounds
Users of pirate IPTV services in Sweden are actively trying to circumvent new ISP blockades ordered by Stockholm's Patent and Market Court. The court sided with rightsholders Viaplay, TV4, and Discovery, requiring Telenor and other ISPs to block subscriber access to pirate IPTV providers. This triggered a cat and mouse game that will likely intensify the call for broader blocking measures.
May 5, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — May 2nd, 2025

DAZN's New Pirate IPTV Blocking Order and its 'Confidential' Secret Sauce
Early April, Belgian media reported new pirate IPTV blocking under a new court obtained by DAZN and 12th Player. Described as "the first of its kind," DNS providers reportedly faced fines of €100,000 per day for non-compliance. Soon after, OpenDNS left Belgium, a replay of its earlier departures from both France and Portugal. Hailed as a "real step forward" against piracy but no mention of a third loss to DNS, the order also contains an apparent secret sauce.
May 2, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 28th, 2025

DRM-Free OnlyFans Downloads See Widevine Project Nuked From GitHub
Used by major video platforms including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu to name just a few, Google content protection system Widevine can be found in leading browsers, games consoles, and most mobile devices. Circumvention has been ongoing for years, but after OnlyFans sent a complaint to GitHub, a Widevine decryption project has been ejected from GitHub.
April 28, 2025 — Source

That one famous anti-piracy PSA campaign may have used a pirated font
The creator of the official font says he finds the whole situation hilarious.
April 28, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 25th, 2025

'Piracy' to legitimacy: How companies like French ride-hailing platform Heetch can make their mark
The 2024 arrest and subsequent release of activist Paul Watson, the founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd that fights to protect ocean biodiversity, highlighted a division between two opposing camps. There are those who want to stay true to the NGO's DNA by continuing to practice strong activism against poaching states, and those who believe there is too much at stake in remaining confrontational and advocate instead for more measured actions to institutionalize the NGO.
April 25, 2025 — Source

"You wouldn't steal a car" anti-piracy ads may have used a stolen font
The anti-piracy campaign that failed its own background check
April 25, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 22nd, 2025

MPA and RIAA Want to be Heard in Crucial DMCA Subpoena Appeal
The MPA and RIAA want to have their say in a crucial third-party Ninth Circuit appeal about the use of DMCA subpoenas against alleged online pirates. Fearing a ruling that could limit their enforcement options, the groups requested speaking time at an upcoming hearing. This intervention, as well as previous commentary from the EFF, which is backed by a new party, underscores the high-stakes nature of the case.
April 22, 2025 — Source

Vercel Slams LaLiga Piracy Blocks as "Unaccountable Internet Censorship"
Cloud-based web application platform Vercel is among the latest companies to find their servers blocked in Spain due to LaLiga's ongoing IPTV anti-piracy campaign. In a statement, Vercel's CEO and the company's principal engineer slam "indiscriminate" blocking as an "unaccountable form of internet censorship" that has prevented legitimate customers from conducting their daily business.
April 22, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 17th, 2025

Alleged Anna's Archive Operator Dropped from U.S. 'Scraping' Lawsuit
American nonprofit OCLC sued Anna's Archive last year for alleged hacking and unauthorized publishing of its WorldCat database. The sole named defendant in the case, an archivist from the Seattle area, denied any involvement with the site. After the court referred several scraping-related questions to the state Supreme Court, OCLC has now agreed to drop the alleged operator from the lawsuit.
April 17, 2025 — Source

MPA & ACE Subpoenas Target Dozens of Potential 'Burner' Pirate Streaming Sites
A new batch of DMCA subpoenas obtained by ACE and the MPA target dozens of pirate streaming sites, some with a few thousand visits per month, others with up to 90 million. The presence of a few established names shows that tradition isn't dead just yet, but there are clear signs that pirate sites are becoming disposable. Here today yet easily burned to the ground tomorrow, few are built to last like they used to. Yet there's no waste; a recycled site performs like new.
April 17, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 11th, 2025

Porn Producer Targets Members of Gay Torrent Site in Court
Adult entertainment company Flava Works is demanding millions in damages in a new lawsuit targeting members of a private gay torrent site. The complaint names the alleged Canadian leaker, who is accused of distributing content downloaded from Flava's paid sites, and 47 'John Doe' defendants who are identified only by their GayTorrent.Ru usernames.
April 11, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 7th, 2025

DAZN Pirate IPTV Action Coincided With Massive Public DNS Blockade
A report in Belgian media on Saturday evening claimed that in conjunction with local ISPs, broadcasters DAZN and 12th Player had just launched a major campaign against more than 100 illegal streaming services and IPTV providers. Documents seen by TorrentFreak show that a court order required public DNS resolver operators Cloudflare, Google, and Cisco, to render over 130 domains inaccessible or face fines of €100,000 per day for non-compliance.
April 7, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 4th, 2025

LaLiga/Cloudflare Crisis: ISPs Urged to Action Amid Mass Overblocking
With assistance from Spain's leading ISPs, LaLiga continues to block pirate sites, Cloudflare, and thousands of innocents caught in the crossfire. Legal action by Cloudflare and hacking collective RootedCON tried to bring the chaos to an end but their requests were dismissed last month. Meanwhile, a non-profit group is demanding that all ISPs participate in nationwide blocking.
April 4, 2025 — Source

Unfinished Copy of 'A Minecraft Movie' Leaks on Pirate Sites
Ahead of its long-delayed American premiere, an unfinished 'workprint' copy of "A Minecraft Movie" is circulating on pirate sites. Warner Bros. is trying to contain this and other leaks, but that may prove difficult. The incident mirrors the infamous 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine workprint leak and the involvement of the FBI, which led to the arrest and conviction of an uploader. The source of that leak was never publicly disclosed.
April 4, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — April 2nd, 2025

Advertising Banned on All Sites Blocked in Russia Starting September
A bill that aims to further undermine operators of restricted platforms including Meta, Instagram, and X will have a much wider effect when it's expected to come into force in September. The amendments ban the placement of advertising on any blocked site in Russia, regardless of reason. Submitted in 2024, the bill will affect thousands of pirate sites and Russia's rapidly growing influencer market.
April 2, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 31st, 2025

Aylo Uses Cybersquatting Complaint to Take Out Pirate Site Domains
In a rare legal move, Aylo subsidiary Licensing IP used a cybersquatting lawsuit to take out pirate websites infringing on its trademarks. The 'in rem' approach allowed the court to order the direct transfer of domains including mydirtyhobby.to without requiring personal jurisdiction over the site operators. The ruling, issued last week, requires the .to registry to transfer the trademark-infringing domains.
March 31, 2025 — Source

UK Pirate Movie Cammers Thwarted 104 Times in 2024, Seven Arrested
Protecting movies during their relatively short theatrical window remains a priority for the industry. According to data released by the Film Content Protection Agency, UK cinema staff spotted and disrupted illegal recording activity 105 times in 2024, with seven individuals arrested by police. One recording did appear online, although that contained zero video.
March 31, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 28th, 2025

Judge Confirms LaLiga's Right to Block Cloudflare in Pursuit of IPTV Pirates
Last December, a Spanish judge authorized LaLiga to block Cloudflare's shared IP addresses to combat piracy. Thousands of innocent internet users were affected, prompting Cloudflare and cybersecurity group RootedCon to ask the court to overturn the order. A judge has now denied both requests, stating that no evidence was presented to show that blocking caused any damage.
March 28, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 24th, 2025

France Mulls Instant IPTV Blocks, €750K Fines & New Piracy Crime of 'Incitement'
Two senators have presented a bill to address what is now openly described as a crisis in French football. The draft envisions sweeping reform to tackle "structural" issues, including broadcasting rights and the ever-present threat from illegal streaming services. On the table, seven years in prison and a €750,000 fine for pirate IPTV suppliers operating as a group, three years and €300,000 for those not, and a new crime of inciting use of pirate IPTV services or software.
March 24, 2025 — Source

Torrent Site Uploader and Member of 'The Scene' Sentenced to Prison in Denmark
Danish authorities have claimed two new victories in the ongoing battle against online piracy. A 46-year-old man, who allegedly uploaded content to the Danish torrent trackers "SuperBits" and "DanishBytes", was sentenced to nine months in prison. The other defendant, a 48-year-old man, was linked to 'The Scene'. He received a twelve-month sentence for hosting two servers and sharing pirated content in one of the most elusive piracy groups.
March 24, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 21st, 2025

Court Orders Google to Poison Public DNS to Prevent IPTV Piracy
Last December the Court of Milan ordered Cloudflare to block sites added to Italy's Piracy Shield system. Cloudflare sees itself as a neutral intermediary but increasingly frustrated rightsholders say it should play a more active role by assisting their fight against piracy. A decision issued by the same court now requires Google to poison its Public DNS to prevent access to pirate sites. It was handed down on March 11 without Google being heard in the matter.
March 21, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 17th, 2025

"Secret Pirate Site Raids" Set for 20:15 & 21:15 Sunday, Invited Journalists Report
The big football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille should've been extremely difficult to pirate in France on Sunday. With rare direct assistance from French telecoms regulator Arcom, DAZN promised to "pull out all the stops" to block pirate sites. Journalists invited in to witness planning for the "secret commando raids" openly reported the exact times they were scheduled for.
March 17, 2025 — Source

Piracy Liability Lawsuit Against WOW! Survives Dismissal Attempt
Movie companies are battling internet provider WOW over piracy allegations, claiming the ISP turned a blind eye to its subscribers' widespread copyright infringement. WOW tried to dismiss the case, arguing it shouldn't be held liable for subscribers' actions, but a Colorado court has now ruled that the case can proceed. Interestingly, comments posted to Reddit played a key role in the court's decision.
March 17, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 14th, 2025

TorrentGalaxy Staff Fear the Worst as Site Stays Dark and Upload Bots Fail
Popular torrent site TorrentGalaxy has been offline for two weeks, with no explanation from its operators. Members of the site's staff are also being kept in the dark, and many fear the site may never return. To the delight of copyright holders, the site's troubles are now being felt across the torrent ecosystem after the site's upload bots also stopped working.
March 14, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 13th, 2025

Disqus is Deleting Pirate Site Communities on Short Notice
After 15 years or so of relatively plain sailing, comment platform Disqus is cracking down on sites that violate its terms of service. Pirate manga and anime sites have received notifications that Disqus will no longer provide services after copyright infringement came to its attention. With evictions now spreading to sites including FitGirl Repacks and KickassAnime, it's a race against the clock to export years of chat in the 24/48 hours notice given.
March 13, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 12th, 2025

Early Pirate Bay Backer Carl Lundström Dies in Plane Crash
Swedish businessman Carl Lundström, founder of the telecoms company Rix Telecom and one of the Wasabröd heirs, died in a plane crash on Monday. Lundström played a pivotal role in the Pirate Bay's rise to fame by supporting the site early on. For his involvement in the site, he was eventually sentenced to four months in prison.
March 12, 2025 — Source

Intermediaries Are (Still) Slow to Disconnect Pirate Live Streams, Report Finds
A new industry-backed report reveals that only a small fraction of takedown notices targeting pirated live streams result in suspensions, with dedicated server providers showing the lowest responsiveness. Rightsholders see the data as evidence that a previously issued recommendation by the EU failed to have an effect. Consequently, more needs to be done to tackle live streaming piracy.
March 12, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 11th, 2025

Authors Put a Spotlight on Meta's BitTorrent Leeching Activity
Meta's legal battle over its alleged use of pirated books as AI training data continues to deliver new twists. Fresh allegations that Meta may have shared data with third parties while "leeching" from torrents have added a critical layer to the legal dispute. The book authors obtained permission to put a spotlight on Meta's "leeching" activity and, in addition, requested summary judgment on copyright infringement.
March 11, 2025 — Source

Police Shut Down Pirate Streaming Network That Cost Broadcaster 'Millions'
Following a complaint filed two years ago by a national pay-TV broadcaster, police in Germany say they now have three main suspects in custody following a huge law enforcement operation. Over 150 officers carried out searches against 18 suspects in 17 locations, with the aim of shutting down an as-yet unnamed illegal streaming operation with an estimated 30,000 subscribers. The three men, aged between 36 and 59, face charges including suspected commercial computer fraud, which carries a potential sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
March 11, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 10th, 2025

Oscar Winner 'Anora' Sees Massive Surge in Pirate Downloads
Anora was the big winner at the Oscars a week ago, securing awards for best picture, actress, and director, among others. This major achievement puts the movie in the spotlight and increases interest through both legal and illegal channels. Fresh data collected by TorrentFreak shows that pirate downloads surged right after the awards ceremony ended.
March 10, 2025 — Source

Pirate Streaming Site Malware Campaign Infected One Million Devices
In December 2024, Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a malware campaign stemming from pirate streaming sites. Using iframe malvertising redirector URLs to generate revenue, and redirects up to five layers deep, malware payloads hosted on GitHub, Discord and Dropbox, acted as a dropper for additional payloads hosted elsewhere. Microsoft says the goal was to steal information and it believes almost a million devices were infected.
March 10, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 9th, 2025

Employee Charged in 'Spider-Man' Pre-Release Blu-ray Theft Linked to Mass Piracy
A former employee of a disc manufacturing company in Memphis has been indicted on charges of stealing and selling pre-release DVDs and Blu-rays of popular films, including "Spider-Man: No Way Home." The indictment links the sales to widespread availability of the movie on pirate sites. The defendant faces charges of criminal copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods, with potential penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment.
March 9, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — March 8th, 2025

Ad-Funded Piracy's 'Biggest Open Secret' Revealed By Researcher
New research on ad-funded piracy centers on manga site Tu Manga Online (TMO). After switching to a new domain 'zonatmo.com' around September last year, it took just 90 days to transform a new start into half a billion visits per month. According to the research, the site's revenue generating scheme is an open secret. Yet, for unknown reasons, nobody tries to stop it.
March 8, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — February 28th, 2025

The best VPN services for torrenting: Expert tested
For legitimate purposes, these VPNs are the best options available for supporting safe, secure, and speedy downloads.
February 28, 2025 — Source

U.S. Government Seizes Dozens of Pirate Sports Streaming .Dev Domains
A sustained campaign by U.S. authorities has led to the seizure of a growing number of pirate sports streaming domains. The IPR Center is now listed as the owner of dozens of .DEV domains, which were signed over as part of the seizure operation. Previously, close to a hundred .APP domains linked to piracy suffered the same fate.
February 28, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — February 18th, 2025

Hacker group releases updated tool to activate almost all modern Microsoft software
The MAS project is donation-free because "profiting from piracy is not good," the pirates say
February 18, 2025 — Source

LaLiga Blocks Cloudflare Again, New Pirate IPTV Providers & Anything in The Way
After admitting it deliberately blocked Cloudflare to prevent a pirate IPTV service reaching users in Spain, LaLiga warned it would continue for as long as necessary to prevent live sports piracy. With thousands of innocent website owners and internet users suffering as collateral damage, a new LaLiga announcement reveals that two additional pirate IPTV providers with 400,000 local users have also been blocked, again by blocking Cloudflare. Charts and graphs produced by internet users leave little to the imagination.
February 18, 2025 — Source

Mexico threatens lawsuit against Google over "Gulf of America" name on Google Maps
Mexico's president suggested North America be renamed America Mexicana
February 18, 2025 — Source

Internet — Peer to Peer (P2P) — February 17th, 2025

Incredible Fmovies Piracy Indictment is Not a "Stunning Victory" For Hollywood
The Hanoi People's Procuracy in Vietnam has issued an indictment against two men said to be the operators of the massive Fmovies piracy empire shut down last year. The indictment offers detail on when the men first met, when their plans for Fmovies began to take shape, and how the site generated revenue. Last year the MPA described the shutdown as a "stunning victory." New revelations are indeed stunning, but extremely puzzling too.
February 17, 2025 — Source

Database of U.S. Internet Pirates will be Decentralized
Starting in a few months, millions of online 'pirates' will be monitored as part of an agreement between the MPAA, RIAA and all major U.S. Internet providers. Alleged infringers will be notified about their misbehavior, and repeat offenders will eventually be punished. Thus far the details on the operation have been very slim, but TorrentFreak has learned that unlike in France, the U.S. database of Internet pirates will be decentralized.
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UTorrent
is an efficient and feature rich BitTorrent client for Windows sporting a very small footprint.
Provides a Service — Source