Operating out of Hanoi since its launch in 2016, the ring offered a suite of notoriously popular illegal streaming websites. — Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Vietnamese authorities, in collaboration with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), have shut down what is claimed to be the world's largest piracy ring for films and television shows.
Operating out of Hanoi since its launch in 2016, the ring offered a suite of notoriously popular illegal streaming websites such as Fmovies, Bflixz, Flixtorz, Movies7, and Myflixer, along with the anime-specific Aniwave.
In a blogpost to its website from last Thursday (Aug 29), ACE wrote that the websites operated by the ring received a total of 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 to June 2024, and about 374 million each month.
ACE, which includes major players in the entertainment industry such as Amazon, Disney, Netflix, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros as members, wrote that the operation was a “landmark action defending intellectual property rights”.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, Hanoi police arrested two Vietnamese men in connection with Fmovies. The report also states that the video hosting provider Vidsrc.to, which was allegedly managed by the same operators, has been similarly shut down.
Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE, Charles Rivkin, said: “The takedown of Fmovies is a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe.”
“With the leadership of ACE and the partnership of the Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi Municipal Police, we are countering criminal activity, defending the safety of audiences, reducing risks posed to tens of millions of consumers, and protecting the rights and livelihoods of creators.”
