Hollywood to film pirates: you have 24 hours to shut down sites… or else
The Motion Picture Association of America has issued a mysterious warning to those running torrenting and other sites to get access to films
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
A group representing the biggest film studios is issuing mysterious threats to those running piracy sites, telling them to shut down sites within a day or face unknown consequences.
The Motion Picture Association of America has sent letters to websites across Europe telling them to “take effective measures to end and prevent further copyright infringement” within 24 hours. The emails use the same language in all cases and have been sent to the biggest torrenting sites as well as niche hosting services.
The letters tell those running the sites about the European laws that are used to pursue those linking to pirate films and TV shows, according to TorrentFreak. But it doesn’t say that the organisation will pursue any specific actions against the operators of sites, simply setting a 24 hour deadline.
“All opportunities provided by the Website to download, stream or otherwise obtain access to the Entertainment Content should be disabled permanently,” the email says.
The email also points to sites using film posters and artwork without the permission of studios. “Since the MPA Members haven’t authorized the Website to publish the Artwork, the Website is infringing copyright on that basis as well,” the organisation’s vice president of global content protection, Jan van Voorn writes.
None of the sites that have received the messages are thought to have shut down, apart from the small site micromkv.com.
Asked to provide further detail on the content of the threats by TorrentFreak, the Motion Picture Association would not elaborate and simply said that the notices “ask respectfully that effective measures be taken to stop further infringement”.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments