Media giants Bell and Videotron have filed a criminal complaint against a Canada-based IPTV provider. In response, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) carried out a search at the residence of a former employee of a Videotron subcontractor, seizing equipment allegedly used to offer unlicensed TV channels to subscribers for around $35 per month.
Under Russian law, search engine operators are required to censor their search results to ensure that permanently blocked sites do not appear in their indexes. After failing to comply by interfacing its systems with the national FGIS blacklist database, Google has now been fined 500,000 rubles (US$7,545), the lowest amount that can be levied under existing laws.
Ahead of the final trilogue negotiations this Thursday, activists will deliver an anti "upload filter" petition signed by four million people to the European Parliament. Lawmakers will try to agree on the final text of the controversial Article 13 this week. The latest proposals stress that any measures platforms take should not remove legitimate content.
The UK Government has committed £2 million to fund the ongoing "Get it Right" anti-piracy campaign until 2021. Under this program, UK Internet providers and rightsholders have teamed up to warn alleged pirates and educate the public at large on how to access content through 'genuine' channels.
The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent are in again. 'Venom' tops the chart this week, followed by ‘Smallfoot'. 'The Predator' completes the top three.
Following the example set by the United States, the European Union has published its very first 'Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List'. The European Commission report targets a broad range of alleged 'pirate' sites in the BitTorrent, cyberlocker, stream-ripping spaces, encouraging law enforcement and network players to help stymie their activities.
Scammers and spammers are using user-generated content sites to distribute links to malware and viruses. The malicious content is advertised as pirated software and games, in an attempt to lure users. The issue is plaguing many platforms but appears to be rather persistent on Facebook and Google groups.
Yet another war of words on Twitter over Article 13 has delivered one of the great ironies of recent times. After Pirate MEP Julia Reda called on kids to 'lobby' their parents over the controversial legislation, she got a "shame on you" from IFPI for "manipulating minors". Trouble is, the entertainment industries have been doing the same for well over a decade.
Users of Showbox will no doubt be aware that the popular streaming tool has been under fire recently, targeted by lawsuits that shut down various websites and the app itself. The Internet is now buzzing with news of a return along with the inevitable question "But is it safe?" It's a difficult, if not impossible, question to answer.