The Motion Picture Association (MPA) recently submitted its biggest ‘piracy threats’ to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for 2024.
You will find the entire list of pirate websites, services, apps, etc. submitted by the MPA towards the end of this article.
This submission, part of an annual inquiry into notorious piracy markets, highlights not just the usual suspects like torrent and streaming sites but also calls out the role of domain registries, hosting providers, and internet intermediaries in enabling piracy.
The Role of the MPA in Anti-Piracy Efforts
The MPA has been a central figure in the fight against piracy for decades. Representing major Hollywood studios, as well as streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon, the organization is instrumental in efforts to take down pirate sites and services worldwide.
In partnership with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the MPA has led significant enforcement actions against pirate operators.
One notable recent victory was the shutdown of Fmovies, one of the largest pirate streaming networks. Despite this win, the MPA stresses that piracy remains a significant global issue that requires broader cooperation across the internet ecosystem.
MPA’s 2024 Piracy Challenges Submission
In its latest submission to the USTR, the MPA outlines the need for a more collaborative approach to tackling piracy.
The organization emphasizes that piracy is not limited to individual rogue websites but involves various intermediaries that help these sites stay online.
Hide Your Digital Fingerprint
The MPA argues that companies such as hosting providers, domain registrars, and proxy services play a critical role in the problem and should take greater responsibility.
The submission explicitly mentions a wide range of services, including cloud providers, reverse proxies, and content delivery networks (CDNs), which are often used by pirate sites to evade detection.
The MPA calls for these services to work together with rightsholders to reduce the availability of pirate content.
Cloudflare and DDos-Guard: Notorious for Supporting Pirate Sites
Among the intermediaries highlighted by the MPA, Cloudflare and DDos-Guard are mentioned as companies that provide services to notorious piracy websites.
Cloudflare, a CDN and internet security company, is criticized for supporting sites like Vegamovies, Cuevana, and The Pirate Bay, which have long histories of copyright infringement.
The MPA notes that The Pirate Bay alone has been flagged over six million times for copyright violations.
Although Cloudflare operates within the U.S. and isn’t directly listed in the notorious markets report, the foreign entity DDos-Guard is specifically targeted for its role in hosting pirate sites.
DDos-Guard’s involvement is flagged as part of a broader issue with international hosting providers that are seen as complicit in supporting piracy.
Pirate Sites and Services Still Operating
The MPA’s submission provides a detailed list of piracy platforms still in operation, despite ongoing enforcement efforts.
While Fmovies has been shut down, other high-traffic pirate sites, such as Vegamovies, Cuevana3, Animeflv, and HiAnime, continue to thrive.
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In the torrent space, notorious names like The Pirate Bay, 1337x, RuTracker, and YTS remain operational, with The Pirate Bay being blocked in over 20 countries.
In addition to traditional pirate sites, the MPA flags apps and devices like Pikashow, IPTV services such as MagisTV, and piracy-as-a-service providers including WHMCS Smarters.
These platforms facilitate unauthorized access to copyrighted content, making it harder for rightsholders to enforce their claims.
Telegram, a popular communication app, is also mentioned as a platform that pirates use to share copyrighted material, even though the app itself is not specifically designed for piracy.
Domain Registries and Hosting Providers
The MPA extends its critique to domain registries, which it says are key enablers of piracy.
Domain extensions such as .CC, .IO, .TV, .RU, and .TO are frequently used by pirate sites to stay operational, despite warnings from rightsholders.
The MPA argues that registries have the power to take action by withdrawing or disabling domain names associated with piracy but often fail to do so.
Notably, U.S.-based registries like .com and .org are not mentioned in the submission. However, this could be due to the reluctance of these organizations to engage in policing the internet.
For example, the Public Internet Registry, which manages .org domains, has previously refused to disable domains like The Pirate Bay, arguing that they do not want to act as the internet’s copyright police.
Pushback from Internet Intermediaries
The submission also highlights the complexity of addressing piracy within the internet’s infrastructure. Hosting providers and domain registries, while not directly involved in piracy, play an essential role in keeping pirate sites accessible.
The MPA would like to see these intermediaries included in the notorious markets list, but the USTR has been hesitant to categorize them as such.
This hesitation is partly due to advocacy from organizations like the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition), which defends the neutral role that intermediaries play in the online ecosystem.
In its own submission to the USTR, the i2Coalition praised the USTR’s cautious approach to listing intermediaries as notorious markets, emphasizing that many of these companies are not complicit in piracy but are merely misused by bad actors.
MPA’s Biggest Piracy Threats List
Listed below are some of the notable piracy threats mentioned in the MPA’s report to the US government. You may notice some similar names from the 2023 report. You can find the complete list of names in the PDF linked below.
Streaming Websites
- Vegamovies
- Cuevana3.biz/eu
- Animeflv.net (new)
- Cda.pl
- Bs.to
- Buffstreams.app
- Diziwatch.net
- Dramasq.com
- Dytt8.net, dytt89.com, dy2018.net, dy2018.com, dydytt.net, and ygdy8.com
- Gimy.ai
- Goojara.to/levidia.ch/to
- Hianime.to
- Indoxxi Network
- Librefutbol.su
- Librefutboltv.net
- Rezka.ag
- S.to
- Soaper.tv
- Solarmovie.to
- Tamilblasters / Streamblasters
- TV**.wiki (e.g., tv51.wiki)
- Veronline.in
Illegal Live TV (IPTV) Services
- MagisTV
- Gogo IPTV
- Apollo Group TV
- Crystal OTT
- BestBuyIPTV.biz
- Spider Receiver
- TheKing365tv.site
- TVExpress.pro
Cyberlockers & Video Hosting Services
- DoodStream
- Telegram
- Mixdrop.co
- Streamtape.com
- HQQ/WaaW/Netu
- Baidu Wangpan
- Rapidgator
- VK.com
Pirate Streaming Apps
- EVPAD
- LokLok
- Movie Box
- PikaShow
- Shabakaty
- SVI Cloud
- TVMob
- Unblock Tech
Torrent Websites & Peer-to-Peer Networks
- 1337x.to
- DonTorrent.com
- Rutracker.org
- ThePirateBay.org
- Ygg
- Yts.mx
- Zamunda.net
Registries
- .IO Registry
- .CC Registry
- .RU Registry
- Â .TO Registry
- .IV Registry
Piracy-as-a-Service (PaaS)
- 2embed.me
- Rewall.in
- Fire Video Player
- HDVB
- Njalla
- WHMCS Smarters
Final Thoughts
The MPA’s latest submission to the U.S. Government highlights the ongoing challenges of online piracy from their perspective. While strides have been made in shutting down some pirate sites, the problem is far from resolved.
The MPA calls for a more unified effort from internet intermediaries, such as hosting providers and domain registries, to take responsibility for their role in enabling piracy.
As the USTR prepares its next report, the future of anti-piracy enforcement could hinge on how these stakeholders respond to growing pressure.
For more information on this story, refer to the MPA’s full submission (PDF) or the report from TorrentFreak.
We want to know your thoughts on this story. What do you think about these “piracy threats” submitted by the MPA? Let us know in the comment section below!
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