'Operation 404' Results In First Prison Sentence For Pirate IPTV Operator (torrentfreak.com) 14
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Brazilian anti-piracy campaign 'Operation 404' has taken down many pirate sites and services over the past five years, but criminal prosecutions have been scarce. This week, anti-piracy group ALIANZA announced a "historic" victory: The operator of pirate IPTV service "Flash IPTV" was sentenced to more than five years in prison, marking the first criminal conviction of this kind in Brazil. [...] The operator of Flash IPTV, who is referred to by the initials A.W.A.P., was found guilty of criminal copyright infringement and sentenced to five years and four months in prison.
Flash IPTV was a relatively large IPTV service with 13,547 active users at its peak. According to local news reports, the service generated $912,000 in revenue over twelve months, before it was taken offline in 2020 as part of the second 'Operation 404' campaign. Speaking with TorrentFreak, ALIANZA says that this is a historic verdict, as it's the first criminal IPTV prosecution linked to 'Operation 404' in Brazil. "We appreciate the commitment of the police and judicial authorities in resolving this important case. The conviction of A.W.A.P. is a milestone that reinforces our commitment to defending the rights of creators and fighting against illegal practices that harm the creative economy," says Victor Roldan, ALIANZA's executive director.
While Operation 404 resulted in many arrests over the years, follow-up prosecutions have been rare in Brazil. Previously, ALIANZA did score a similar victory in Ecuador, where the operator of the pirate IPTV service IPTVlisto.com was sentenced to a year in prison. Last fall, Brazilian authorities conducted the sixth wave of Operation 404 and more are expected to follow in the future. These enforcement initiatives are broadly praised by rightsholders and the recent conviction will only strengthen their support.
Flash IPTV was a relatively large IPTV service with 13,547 active users at its peak. According to local news reports, the service generated $912,000 in revenue over twelve months, before it was taken offline in 2020 as part of the second 'Operation 404' campaign. Speaking with TorrentFreak, ALIANZA says that this is a historic verdict, as it's the first criminal IPTV prosecution linked to 'Operation 404' in Brazil. "We appreciate the commitment of the police and judicial authorities in resolving this important case. The conviction of A.W.A.P. is a milestone that reinforces our commitment to defending the rights of creators and fighting against illegal practices that harm the creative economy," says Victor Roldan, ALIANZA's executive director.
While Operation 404 resulted in many arrests over the years, follow-up prosecutions have been rare in Brazil. Previously, ALIANZA did score a similar victory in Ecuador, where the operator of the pirate IPTV service IPTVlisto.com was sentenced to a year in prison. Last fall, Brazilian authorities conducted the sixth wave of Operation 404 and more are expected to follow in the future. These enforcement initiatives are broadly praised by rightsholders and the recent conviction will only strengthen their support.
Operation ... 404? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Hi there. Totally off topic, but...
I checked out your repo ( https://github.com/adamhotep/u... [github.com] ). Looks fun, but what am I meant to do with this code?
Re: (Score:2)
It's a Userscript [wikipedia.org] that you can run on sites with add-ons like Greasemonkey [wikipedia.org] (for Firefox; install on Firefox [mozilla.org]) or Tampermonkey [wikipedia.org] (for most browsers; install on Chrome+ [google.com]). I'll have to update the comments in my code to provide that instruction.
About as clear-cut a case as there is... (Score:2)
I'm sure that if you did around in the guts of the case there's something in there that can be debated. There always is. But on the surface it seems about as simple as these things get. There is a direct line of sight between violation and revenue, nobody is hiding behind some sort of "information wants to be free" trope, and the motive was... money. Not some weird sense of altruism that equates to being a facilitator of the "greater good" of free content dissemination. Good old cash.
Re: (Score:3)
If he/she makes money then so be it.
I tap into your electricity line and use it for my purposes to make money, but you pay for the electricity. Sounds fair, right?
Re: About as clear-cut a case as there is... (Score:1)
I would gladly pay providers to get some of these channels legally. Part of why rogue IPTV sites are so successful is because they fill a gap -- these networks don't *want* my money, because I live in the wrong country. (Which doesn't mean any sanctioned country or anything, just "not t
Re: (Score:2)
Nothing wrong with cash as a motivator. It's the most honest one there is. As for whether or not it's a sound business model, that depends on how much of a cost you think incarceration represents.
I'm not espousing an opinion. I just think it's refreshing to have the waters so clearly unmuddied.
Mmkay (Score:3)
Stealing pictures is bad, mmkay...