A recent study published in the Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice sheds light on people's motivations to use Z-Library. Expensive books and limited access to academic material play a key role among those surveyed. That includes a group of Chinese postgraduate students who believe that shadow libraries help to overcome (academic) poverty.
Z-Library is one of the largest shadow libraries on the Internet, hosting millions of books and academic articles that can be downloaded for free.
The site defied all odds over the past two years. It continued to operate despite a full-fledged criminal prosecution by the United States, which resulted in the arrest of two alleged operators in Argentina.
These two Russian defendants are wanted by the United States and earlier this year a judge approved their extradition. However, according to the most recent information we have, the defendants escaped house arrest and vanished...
A team of hackers from Brazil have taken first place in a hackathon organized by the country's telecoms regulator. The challenge was to develop a solution to prevent non-approved 'pirate' set-top devices from functioning in people's homes. The team say they were able to remotely transfer code which completely disabled a target device. Once implemented, "there will be a general failure in most of the irregular boxes in use," the hacker predicted.
Early September, Brazil’s telecom regulator Anatel announced that it would team up with the Hackathon Brazil Community to stage the first ever ‘TV Box Hackathon’.
The two-day event, tabled for September 28 and 29, would see teams of hackers develop “innovative solutions” to block or disable non-certified set-top boxes, typically piracy-configured Android devices installed in people’s homes.
So the challenge is this: by understanding how these non-approved devices work, you must develop an approach that is capable of interrupting the exchang...
During the coming weeks, the 15,000th piracy-linked resource will likely find itself blocked by Brazilian ISPs in response to yet another court order. Indications that Brazil is already testing piracy blocking measures at the internet's core routers is controversial, but if blocking is accurate and only targets pirate sites, criticism may be limited. With a new 250+ domain blocking wave implemented this week, let's take a closer look at how things play out.
Brazil’s enthusiasm for blocking piracy-linked domains and IP addresses is showing no signs of slowing down.
Despite being a relative newcomer to mass blockades on copyright grounds, Brazil’s ISPs will soon find themselves blocking the 15,000th resource since restrictions began in earnest just a couple of years ago.
That the cycle is guaranteed to continue next year, and at minimum a few years after that, celebrating the blocking of the 30,000th domain or IP address is no longer the impossible dream it once was. Whether the constant requirement for more and more ...
A new survey from Norway reveals that 50% of young people under 30 believe that pirating content is an acceptable way to save money. The survey, conducted by Ipsos, highlights that the high cost of streaming services is a key driver behind this attitude. Links between piracy and organized crime or malware, appear to be of less concern.
Most people know that pirating movies, live sports, and music is against the law. Despite this awareness, millions do so daily.
Norway is no exception. The country offers consumers plenty of legal options, including many streaming platforms. However, that might actually be part of the problem.
Those who want the full spectrum of streaming options, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Max, Apple TV, SkyShowtime, Viaplay, Discovery+, and many others, need deep pockets. In many cases, people subscribe to a selection instead, while pirating on the side.
This week, th...
Last month, the company behind music streaming app Musi sued Apple for breach of contract, following the removal of its app from the App Store. Musi hoped for a swift reinstatement through a preliminary injunction, but Apple believes the court should deny the request. The tech giant argues that the delisting is allowed under its developer contract, stressing that the removal was not an impulsive decision.
In September, Apple removed the popular music streaming app Musi from its App Store. The delisting is significant, as the app has millions of users.
Apple’s action didn’t come as a complete surprise. Music industry groups had been trying to take Musi down for months, branding it a ‘parasitic’ app that skirts the rules.
Music group IFPI took the lead, calling on other music industry players and YouTube to complain to Apple as well. This mounting pressure eventually paid off.
The delisting puts the future of Musi directly at risk. The company initi...
Spanish police have shut down Cristal Azul, a popular Kodi add-on with an estimated 78,000 users. As sports rightsholders claim the fraudulent access cost them €42 million, in piracy circles the shutdown is being linked to a change of policy at Telegram. A direct warning that personal details could be handed over by Telegram coincides with some piracy groups abandoning the platform.
Whenever fans read about football in mainstream European media, carefully crafted deterrent messaging woven into anti-piracy news is unlikely to be too far away.
Suing everyone is impossible, but as rightsholders in Spain warn that fines are on the way, in the context of a reverse lawsuit lottery that nobody wants to win, ‘y si toca aquí?’
A press release issued by Spain’s Ministry of the Interior on Friday is fairly dry by most standards, but by withholding most of the important details (Who, What, When, Where, Why), those reporting on the story are left t...
A new trend has emerged on YouTube where 'scammy' channels facing a ban for copyright infringement appear to evade penalties through the use of sexually explicit content. Questions remain, but evidence does suggest that a loophole is being exploited. By avoiding termination for copyright infringement, these channel owners may be able to protect their linked AdSense accounts.
YouTube is the world’s most watched streaming platform. The endless library of videos, uploaded by both amateurs and professionals, is simply unrivaled.
This popularity translates into hard cash, with YouTube and its creators generating billions of dollars in yearly revenue. However, the revenue potential is also a magnet for people who try to profit from the work of others.
We’re not referring to the occasional use of copyrighted content in a broader creative context, but systematic copying in order to generate ‘viral’ content. This turns out to be a ...
Police raids in Colombia and Ecuador this week against people involved in the sale and supply of illegal streaming service Magis TV, have an unusual component. In addition to the usual charges relating to the distribution of unlicensed streams, initial reports suggest that cybersecurity crimes relating to the functionality of the Magis TV software will also feature among the charges.
There are dozens of recognizable brands in the illegal streaming market, all jostling for position in a chaotic market where trademarks are copied even more readily than movies or live TV streams.
In Latin America, one brand stands out more than most, and not just because it has a bright orange logo. Believed to operate out of China, illegal streaming service Magis TV is consumed via a now ubiquitous Android app, made available on hundreds of websites, including those operated by a very large network of resellers.
Rightsholders in the United States consider Magis TV a priorit...
The alleged owner and operator of FMovies and affiliated platforms, together considered the most visited pirate sites on the planet before they were recently shut down, has confessed and will be prosecuted in Vietnam. Phan Thành Công, 34, is said to have operated the site between 2016 and 2024. An accomplice, Nguyen Tuan Anh, also 34, allegedly uploaded 50,000 videos.
After eight years of unprecedented uptime and reliability, the collapse and eventual demise of pirate streaming giant FMovies looked much like the demise of any other.
Cracks first started to emerge in June 2024 when the site stopped updating with new content. A few weeks later in mid-July, FMovies disappeared entirely, without any explanation from its operators or indeed anyone else. An announcement at the end of August confirmed what many had suspected, however.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and anti-piracy coalition Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) re...
BREIN has obtained a new blocking order in the Netherlands targeting TorrentGalaxy, one the world's most popular torrent sites. Internet provider Odido objected to the request, arguing that the Dutch anti-piracy group could have done more to target the problem closer to the source. The Rotterdam District Court found that the anti-piracy group can't be expected to do more than it's already done.
Pirate site blocking is one of the entertainment industry’s favorite enforcement tools. In recent years, it’s become a common practice in many countries around the world.
In the Netherlands, it took over a decade for the first order to be approved. After detours through the Supreme Court and the EU Court of Justice, the final order was issued in 2020, targeting The Pirate Bay.
With all the legal paperwork in order, the doors were open to more blocking requests, especially after rightsholders and local ISPs signed a covenant to streamline the process. If a court or...