The hugely popular /r/soccerstreams discussion platform on Reddit has effectively shut down. The subreddit has well in excess of 420,000 subscribers but following a final warning from Reddit's administrators over links to matches illegally posted by users, the sub has voluntarily put an end to all user submissions.
Today the EU Parliament and Council were supposed to agree on the final text of Article 13, known for its potential "upload filters." However, the negotiations were cancelled after the Member States failed to agree on a final negotiating position. This means that the finalization of the copyright reform plans is delayed again.
In 2015, Portugal introduced a voluntary 'pirate' site-blocking regime against torrent, streaming, and similar sites, with zero court orders needed. Now the campaign has been extended to include the blocking of live sports streams, initially soccer matches. Again, the process is entirely voluntary with no injunctions required.
The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent are in again. 'A Star is Born' tops the chart this week, followed by ‘Hunter Killer'. 'First Man' completes the top three.
The BitTorrent protocol has a decentralized nature but the ecosystem surrounding it has some weak spots. Torrent sites, for example, use centralized search engines which are prone to outages and takedowns. Torrent-Paradise tackles this problem with IPFS, a searchable torrent indexer that's shared by the people.
LinkoManija.net, the most visited torrent site in Lithuania and the 18th most popular site, period, must be blocked by ISPs, a court has ruled. The case has been ongoing for two years and is likely to open the doors to widespread 'pirate' site blocking in the country.
The developer of pirate streaming app TVZion is so angry at people accessing his pro version for free that he's threatened to start retaliatory action against pirates. Storing IP addresses and usage habits, turning machines into cryptominers, and using devices as unpaid proxy servers are all on the table.
Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN is among the most active civil copyright enforcement groups in the world. This week the group announced its 2018 achievements, which includes the shutdown of pirate sites and IPTV vendors, as well as settlements with uploaders. These efforts will continue in the year to come, when BREIN also plans to ramp up its efforts against uploaders.
Photographer Kristen Pierson Reilly has filed a lawsuit against Facebook for failing to respond properly to a DMCA notice. The social network refused to remove a copy of her photo, stating that it wasn't clear whether its use was infringing. In a complaint filed in a federal court in New York, Pierson now demands compensation for the damage she suffered.