The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has announced the dismantling of Fmovies, which they describe as the “largest pirate streaming operation in the world.” The action was taken by Vietnamese authorities, who conducted a raid in Hanoi, leading to the shutdown of Fmovies and its network of affiliated sites. Between January 2023 and June 2024, these sites reportedly attracted over 6.7 billion visits, indicating the massive scale of the operation.
Details of the Operation
Two suspects were arrested during the raid, although no charges have been filed against them yet. The shutdown also targeted the video hosting provider Vidsrc.to and its affiliated sites, which ACE claims were managed by the same group behind Fmovies.
Industry Reactions
Charles Rivkin, CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and chairman of ACE, praised the crackdown as a significant win for the global creative community, including casts, crews, writers, directors, and studios. ACE, which consists of major entertainment companies such as Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros., has been at the forefront of the fight against digital piracy, emphasizing the substantial financial losses piracy inflicts on the entertainment industry.
Impact on the Pirate Streaming Landscape
Fmovies, which began operations in 2016, had become a major player in the illegal streaming sector. At its height in 2023, it was ranked as the 11th most popular website globally in the TV, movies, and streaming category, according to SimilarWeb. The network included several well-known piracy sites like bflixz, flixtorz, movies7, myflixer, and aniwave.
The dismantling of Fmovies and its associated platforms is part of a broader crackdown on piracy websites. Recently, other popular illegal streaming sites like Aniwave and AnimeFlix have also gone offline, although ACE has not explicitly claimed involvement in those particular shutdowns.
Broader Implications
The takedown of Fmovies and Vidsrc.to has sent ripples through online communities that frequent pirated content. On platforms such as Reddit, users have expressed concern and are seeking alternative sites for accessing pirated media. Some former operators of piracy sites have begun to advocate for legal paid services, urging respect for content creators.
Industry’s Stance on Piracy
The MPA and other industry stakeholders argue that online piracy significantly undermines their revenue streams. However, there is a counterargument suggesting that the proliferation of piracy sites is, in part, a reaction to the fragmentation of content across multiple legal streaming services and the often unpredictable removal of titles from these platforms.
Larissa Knapp, the chief content protection officer for the MPA, emphasized that the takedown of Fmovies serves as a “powerful deterrent message” to other piracy operations. This action underscores the entertainment industry’s ongoing efforts to combat digital piracy and protect its content.