FMovies explained

FMovies
Logo Alt:to identify
Advertising:Yes; pop-up advertising
Commercial:Yes
Type:Streaming media
Registration:Optional
Language:All
Area Served:Worldwide (blocked in Australia, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and the United Kingdom)
Programming Language:HTML, JavaScript and PHP
Current Status:Defunct

FMovies was a series of file streaming websites that host links and embedded videos, allowing users to stream or download movies for free. The sites have been subject to legal action in various jurisdictions on grounds of copyright infringement and piracy.[1] [2] [3] [4] In August 2024, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment announced that the site was shut down by Vietnamese authorities.[5] The sites were receiving billions of views a year at its peak.[6]

History

The site was created in 2016,[7] and blocked from Google searches in December 2016.

In November 2017, FMovies lost a lawsuit brought by Filipino media and entertainment group ABS-CBN, and was ordered to pay $210,000.[8] [9] [10]

In January 2018, the site was identified as a "notorious market" by the U.S. government, along with The Pirate Bay and other piracy sites.[11] In October 2018, Telia Company, a Swedish ISP, was ordered to block FMovies. They appealed the order.[12] That same month, the Motion Picture Association reported FMovies along with other piracy sites to the U.S. government.[13] FMovies was blocked in Australia in December 2018, after a request in August.[14] [15] [16]

In February 2019, Sweden asked advertisers to blacklist some piracy and streaming sites, which included FMovies.[17] In April 2019, ISPs in India were ordered to block FMovies and other piracy sites.[18]

In October 2023, Vietnam's Ministry of Information and Communications (Vietnam) declares a joint operation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Vietnam) and Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam) divisions, with direct focus on FMovies in an effort to combat piracy.[19]

In December 2023, scrutiny heightened as the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property holds a livestreamed hearing with the Motion Picture Association, where calls for more action to be done against FMovies are requested in particular, with Karyn Temple calling for ISPs within the United States to block access to the website entirely, also citing other concerns regarding how the website may garner revenue.[20] [21] [22]

In July 2024 the site was reported as offline.[23] Several websites related to FMovies have followed suit next month.[24] In August 2024, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment announced that the site was shut down by Vietnamese authorities, with Hanoi police having arrested two Vietnamese men in relation to the website. TorrentFreak reported that according to local police, the suspects allegedly earned “hundreds of thousands of US dollars” while operating the site, and "both men confessed in full to all alleged crimes."[25]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Court Orders Swedish ISP Telia to Block The Pirate Bay & FMovies . 2018-10-16 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-03-07.
  2. Web site: FMovies Loses Control of Swedish Domain, Moves to Iceland . 2018-09-07 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-03-07.
  3. Web site: Major 'Pirate' Movie Streaming Site Fmovies Sued in US Court . 2016-10-26 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-03-07.
  4. Web site: US Court Orders Pirate Streaming Site FMovies to Pay $210,000 . 2017-06-09 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-03-07.
  5. Web site: Kilkenny . Katie . Top Movie Piracy Ring Taken Down, Major Studios’ Enforcement Group Claims . The Hollywood Reporter . 29 August 2024.
  6. Web site: Masunaga . Samantha . Antipiracy coalition and Vietnamese police shut down major pirate streaming business . Los Angeles Times . 29 August 2024.
  7. Web site: WHOIS Domain Search Revealing Registration . 2016-11-23 . WHOIS.com . en . 2023-12-24.
  8. Web site: ABS-CBN Wants $210,000 Piracy Damages From FMovies . 2017-04-01 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  9. Web site: Will FMovies Soon Lose Its Domain Name? Court Orders The Site To Pay $210,000 . Verma . Adarsh . 2017-06-10 . Fossbytes . en-US . 2019-05-25.
  10. Web site: FMovies.to and FMovies.se to Shut Down Soon? US Court Orders To Pay $210,000 In Copyright Infringement Lawsuit . Sharma . Shubham . 2017-06-11 . MobiPicker . en-US . 2019-05-25.
  11. Web site: US Govt Brands Torrent, Streaming & Cyberlocker Sites As Notorious Markets . 2018-01-15 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  12. Web site: Swedish ISP Telia Appeals Pirate Bay Blocking Order . 2018-10-26 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  13. Web site: MPAA Reports 'Notorious' Pirate Sites to The US Government . 2018-10-03 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  14. Web site: Australian court orders blocking of subtitle piracy sites . Barbaschow . Asha . ZDNet . en . 2019-05-25.
  15. Web site: Australian Court Orders ISPs to Block 181 'Pirate' Domains, Including Subtitle Sites . 2018-12-20 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  16. Web site: Movie & TV Show Companies Want Subtitle Sites Blocked Down Under . 2018-08-02 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  17. Web site: Sweden Asks Advertisers to Blacklist Streaming and Torrent Sites . 2019-02-23 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  18. Web site: Pirate Bay, RARBG, 1337x & Torrentz2 to be Permanently Blocked in India . 2019-04-12 . TorrentFreak . en . 2019-05-25.
  19. Web site: Vietnam Forms Specialist Unit to Tackle Pirate Sites Linked to 'Organized Crime' . 2023-10-18 . TorrentFreak . en . 2023-12-24.
  20. Web site: Digital Copyright Piracy: Protecting American Consumers, Workers, and Creators . 2023-12-13 . YouTube . en . 2023-12-24.
  21. Web site: Testimony of Karyn A. Temple Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel Motion Picture Association, Inc. To the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet hearing on “Digital Copyright Piracy: Protecting American Consumers, Workers, And Creators” . 2023-12-13 . House Judiciary Committee Republicans . en . 2023-12-24.
  22. Web site: Pirate Site Blocking Demands Intensify as U.S. Lawmakers Get Fmovies Walkthrough . 2023-12-14 . TorrentFreak . en . 2023-12-24.
  23. Web site: Van der Sar . Ernesto . July 17, 2024 . Fmovies Has Gone Offline, the End of a Pirate Streaming Giant? . 2024-08-29 . TorrentFreak . en.
  24. Web site: Van der Sar . Ernesto . 28 August 2024 . Pirate Streaming Giants Fboxz, AniWave, Zoroxtv & Others Dead in Major Collapse . 2024-08-29 . TorrentFreak . en.
  25. Web site: Maxwell . Andy . FMovies Piracy 'Mastermind' Confesses, Authorities Confirm Piracy Prosecution . . en . November 13, 2024.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "FMovies".

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