Landmark Raid! 'World's Largest' Piracy Streaming Network Fmovies Shut Down By Vietnamese Authorities

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) In a landmark victory against online piracy, Vietnamese authorities, in collaboration with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), have dismantled what is being described as the largest pirate streaming operation globally. The operation targeted Fmovies and its extensive Network of affiliated sites, which together attracted over 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024. The crackdown, executed by the Hanoi police, marks a significant blow to the illegal streaming industry.

On Thursday, ACE announced that the coordinated effort led to the shutdown of Fmovies, along with its network of popular piracy websites, including bflixz, flixtorz, movies7, myflixer, and aniwave. These sites had established themselves as dominant players in the illegal streaming market, with Fmovies alone ranking as the 11th most visited website globally in the TV, movies, and streaming category at its peak in 2023, according to data from SimilarWeb.

The raid also targeted the video hosting provider Vidsrc and its associated sites, which ACE claims were operated by the same group managing Fmovies. Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the operation, though formal charges are yet to be filed. The identities of the suspects and details of the operation remain undisclosed as investigations continue.

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and ACE, a coalition that includes entertainment giants like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros., have lauded the takedown as a monumental achievement in the fight against digital piracy. Charles Rivkin, CEO of the MPA and chairman of ACE, praised the action as "a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe."

Larissa Knapp, the MPA's chief content protection officer, echoed Rivkin's sentiments, emphasizing that the Fmovies takedown sends a "powerful deterrent message" to other piracy operations still in existence. The move is seen as a significant step in curbing the multi-billion dollar losses that studios incur annually due to online piracy.

The crackdown on Fmovies and its network has sent shockwaves through online communities that thrive on pirated content. On platforms such as Reddit, users have expressed their dismay at the shutdown, with many scrambling to find alternative sites. The sudden disappearance of these sites has left a void in the piracy landscape, with some former operators even urging users to transition to legal streaming services as a show of respect for content creators.

This latest action is part of a broader global crackdown on piracy. Other popular illegal streaming platforms, including Aniwave and AnimeFlix, have also recently gone offline, though ACE has not claimed direct involvement in those specific shutdowns. The reasons behind their closures remain unclear, but it underscores the growing pressure on illegal streaming services worldwide.

While the takedown of Fmovies represents a significant victory, industry experts caution that the fight against piracy is far from over. The fragmented nature of content across multiple legal streaming services and the removal of popular titles from catalogs are often cited as factors driving users toward illegal platforms. As such, the entertainment industry continues to grapple with finding the balance between accessibility and combating piracy.

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