piracy
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Netflix is no longer available for your rooted Android phone
Have you noticed that you suddenly can't (officially) download the Netflix app to your rooted Android phone? You're not alone. Netflix has confirmed that its app is no longer visible on Google Play to anyone with a device that is "not Google-certified or [has] been altered." A spokesperson tells Android Police that it's all about a shift in copy protection. Version 5.0 of the Netflix app now leans entirely on Google's Widevine digital rights management to prevent piracy, so it has to treat those modified devices as incompatible. The crackdown isn't completely shocking, but it does create some issues.
How the Digital Economy Act will come between you and porn
As we approach the snap general election on June 8th, the UK government has had to get through as much important business as possible before Parliament shut down earlier today in preparation for the vote. Last week, MPs and Lords working on the Digital Economy Bill opted to forego much of the usual "ping pong" process of debating amendments and wording amongst themselves in order to get the thing passed. That "good enough" approach meant the bill became law last Thursday after receiving immediate Royal Assent. The Digital Economy Act introduces a new requirement for porn sites to verify the age of visitors, rules regarding the capping of mobile phone bills and it should help stop ticket touts from bulk-buying online. But there's a lot more to it, so here's everything you need to know.
In Ethiopia, pirate movie kiosks hide in plain sight
With the rise of cheap, easy and legal streaming services, actually pirating a movie or song seems like way too much effort. But in those places where high-speed internet may not be as prevalent, and those services are too pricey, other methods are required. In one Ethiopian shopping mall, for instance, there's apparently an ATM-style kiosk that enables locals to purchase illegally-obtained movies for cents.
Hackers stole a copy of 'Orange is the New Black' season five (updated)
The next season of Orange is the New Black isn't supposed to premiere until June 9th, but the first episode has already leaked. That's because a hacker or group of hackers going by the name 'TheDarkOverlord stole the content from a third party, and they're demanding Netflix pay a ransom in order to keep the rest of the season private. Late Friday night, TheDarkOverlord tweeted about content belonging to ABC, FOX, IFC and National Geographic, saying "We're not playing any games anymore."
Facebook creators will profit from people stealing videos
Facebook's video platform has grown like a weed, mainly thanks to auto-plays and a significant rise in accounts presenting other people's work as their own. In 2015, the company introduced a video matching system aimed at curbing the practice, and now it's taking that one step forward with the promise that original video creators can profit when other people pirate their creations.
EU court rules selling pre-loaded pirate boxes is illegal
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has today handed down a judgement that could drastically affect how multimedia streaming boxes are sold across the continent. In a case involving Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN and local online store Filmspeler.nl (Movie Player), it agreed with concerns regarding the sale of hardware that comes pre-loaded with addons that deliver protected sports and movie streams, ruling that it constitutes copyright infringement .
Kim Dotcom asks the Supreme Court to hear him out
Kim Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing website Megaupload, is taking his case to the United States Supreme Court. He's petitioned the highest court in the land to overturn a ruling allowing US authorities to keep $75 million in assets seized during a 2012 raid on Dotcom's house in Auckland, New Zealand.
Premier League wins court order to block Kodi football streams
The Premier League has been granted stronger powers to crack down on copyright infringing streams of football matches. Under a new court order, approved by the UK's high court, the organisation will be able to block servers powering illegal streams. It's a method that could and should be more effective than simply blocking the sites and webpages hosting a shady video player. "For the first time this will enable the Premier League to disrupt and prevent the illegal streaming of our matches via IPTV, so-called Kodi, boxes," a spokesperson for the Premier League said.
Nintendo wins a key case against a 3DS modchip seller
Nintendo is no stranger to cracking down on companies that sell tools enabling pirated games on its consoles. However, its latest victory might be more important than most. The company has won a copyright case in Canada that accused Go Cyber Shopping (GCS) and its founder, Jeramie King, of illegally selling 3DS flashcarts, modchips and other piracy-oriented tools. While Nintendo would likely be happy enough with that triumph, it notes that this is the first case "of its kind" to test the Canadian Copyright Act's anti-circumvention measures -- think of it as a rough parallel to aspects of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the US.
Google and Microsoft agree to demote pirate search results
The UK government has drawn up a 'Voluntary Code of Practice' designed to demote search results for copyright-infringing websites. The new guidelines, which come into effect immediately, have been signed by Google, Bing, the Motion Picture Association and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). They formalise and "accelerate" the process by which a rights holder can flag what it perceives to be a site containing illegal content. If the request is upheld, the link will be removed from "the first page of search results," according to the UK's Intellectual Property Office.
Is the UK's new piracy email alert program dead on arrival?
All of the UK's major internet service providers have just embarked on a new project aimed at curbing digital piracy. As part of a bigger campaign to promote legal sources of media, spearheaded by copyright holders and the UK government, ISPs have signed up to the Voluntary Copyright Alert Programme. Under this, providers have agreed to send warning emails to subscribers when their IP address has been implicated in illegal file-sharing. Rather than being threatening, these emails are intended to be educational, informing people of what's happening on their connection and pointing them towards all the legal ways they can watch the latest DVD releases. There's just one problem: It doesn't work.
US internet providers stop sending piracy warnings
Remember the media industry's vaunted Copyright Alert System? It was supposed to spook pirates by having their internet providers send violation notices, with the threat of penalties like throttling. However, it hasn't exactly panned out. ISPs and media groups have dropped the alert system with an admission that it isn't up to the job. While the program was supposedly successful in "educating" the public on legal music and video options, the MPAA states that it just couldn't handle the "hard-core repeat infringer problem" -- there wasn't much to deter bootleggers.
'Fully loaded' Kodi box seller pleads not guilty
Whether the makers of Kodi (by now you should know that's the new name for what used to be XBMC) like it or (definitely) do not, people have built businesses around preloading their software on players like a Fire TV stick and advertising it as an avenue for watching pirated video streams. Over in the UK, the authorities raided Brian Thompson's Cut Price Tomo TV's and have charged him with two offenses under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. Now, as TorrentFreak explains, the court will decide what role Thompson played in any potential copyright infringement by the people who purchased the devices.
UK ISPs will soon send written warnings to suspected pirates
UK ISPs will begin sending out emails to subscribers later this month, warning them of movie, TV and music piracy identified on their connection and pointing them to legal content sources. All four major providers -- Sky, BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk -- have agreed to the Voluntary Copyright Alert Programme, an anti-piracy initiative that's been in the works since the summer of 2014. It's the active component of Creative Content UK, a partnership between copyright holders, the government and ISPs that aims to combat digital piracy in an educational, non-threatening way.
Recording industry writes Trump on the eve of tech CEO visit
According to multiple reports, on Wednesday a number of high-profile tech execs will visit President-elect Donald Trump. The list includes Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, Tim Cook, Sheryl Sandberg, Jeff Bezos, Brian Krzanich and a number of others. Before that meeting goes down, however, the "music community" consisting of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and friends decided this was the time to speak up. In a letter (PDF) to Trump, the industry made its case for how valuable music is, and how that value (for their member companies) is being siphoned away by tech companies that don't do enough to make sure every note is paid for.
Amazon's 'Grand Tour' is the most pirated show ever (update)
Amazon's The Grand Tour, a reboot of the BBC's hit show Top Gear, has been an unmitigated success, with fans with its first episode alone garnering "millions" of views. It's also a hit with pirates who, instead of paying the annual $100 fee for Amazon Prime, have downloaded the first three episodes at unprecedented rates.
'Super Mario Run' won't work offline due to piracy concerns
Super Mario Run doesn't arrive for another few days, but when it does, you'll need a constant internet connection to play the game. In an interview with Mashable, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that due to piracy concerns, the latest installment of Mario doesn't have an offline mode. The company is worried about piracy because the game will be available in 150 countries on devices that it doesn't have direct control over.
Pirates swamp online stores with counterfeit music CDs
It can be easy to forget that CDs still represent a significant chunk of the music industry's revenue in the streaming era, but pirates certainly haven't forgotten. The Wall Street Journal has learned that counterfeit CDs are a serious problem at Amazon and other online stores. Bootleggers (frequently from China) produce discs that are increasingly similar to the real deal and sell them for slightly less than legitimate copies, making them look like bargains instead of obvious frauds. And they aren't always coming from obscure suppliers, either. In an RIAA investigation, Amazon fulfilled 18 out of 44 CD orders identified as counterfeit.
Pirate Party victory gives it a real chance of influencing politics
As of now, the Pirate Party is more than just a symbolic vote for internet freedom, copyright reform or straight-up democratic change -- in Iceland, it could have a tangible effect. The party just won 14.5 percent of the total vote and 10 seats in Iceland's parliamentary election, giving a national Pirate Party its first real chance at forming a government (if only as part of a coalition). While the conservative Independence Party came out ahead with 21 seats, it's unlikely to have any choice but to partner with one or more left-wing parties. Outrage over corruption forced the once-leading Progressive Party down to just eight seats, and there's no guarantee that Independence will want to side with the Left-Green Movement (which also garnered 10 seats) or other parties.
Cisco says it can cut live pirate video streams
It's relatively easy for content providers to take down pirated videos when they're uploaded to the web, but stopping live streams is another matter. Just ask anyone who has watched a bootleg stream for a pay-per-view boxing match or the Super Bowl -- new streams usually pop up faster than the copyright holders can take them down. The party might soon be over, however. Cisco has created a new technology, Streaming Piracy Prevention, that promises to automatically cut off illegal live feeds.
