The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a coalition of major entertainment studios including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple TV+, and others, has claimed victory in a significant crackdown on a massive movie piracy operation based in Vietnam. Working with Vietnamese law enforcement, ACE says it has shut down the Fmovies streaming service and a network of affiliated piracy sites. Together, they made up “the largest pirate streaming operation in the world.”
Piracy Network Had 6.7 Billion Visits in 1.5 Years
According to ACE, this piracy ring attracted over 6.7 billion visits from January 2023 to June 2024 across sites like Fmovies, bflixz, flixtorz, movies7, myflixer, and aniwave. The effort also targeted the video hosting provider Vidsrc.to. The same suspects allegedly operated this site. Two Vietnamese men have been arrested in connection with the Fmovies operation, though they have not yet been charged.
Anti-Piracy Victory for Creative Community
ACE collaborates with law enforcement globally to combat online piracy and celebrates the takedown as a “stunning victory” for the creative community. The Motion Picture Association’s leadership described it as a “powerful deterrent message.” They said they look forward to ongoing joint efforts with Vietnamese, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Homeland Security authorities to bring the operators to justice.
Fmovies Has a Long History of Piracy
The Fmovies site has long been a target of anti-piracy enforcement. The U.S. Trade Representative consistently included it on the annual “Notorious Markets” list. In 2023, it was reportedly the 280th most popular website worldwide across all categories.
However, the disruption of this major piracy operation has left users scrambling to find alternative piracy sites. Reddit discussions indicate a “streaming apocalypse” for those accustomed to accessing content illicitly. The cat-and-mouse game between major studios and online pirates appears far from over.