Wikipedia

FMovies

FMovies and FlixHQ was a series of file streaming websites that host links and embedded videos, allowing users to stream or download movies for free. The sites have been subject to legal action in various jurisdictions on grounds of copyright infringement and piracy.[1][2][3][4] In August 2024, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment announced that the site was shut down by Vietnamese authorities.[5] The sites were receiving billions of views a year at its peak.[6]

FMovies
to identify
Type of site
Streaming media
Available inAll
Area servedWorldwide (blocked in Australia, Denmark, United Arab Emirates[citation needed], Sweden, and the United Kingdom)
AdvertisingYes; pop-up advertising
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2016; 8 years ago (2016)
Current statusDefunct
Written inHTML, JavaScript and PHP

History

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The site was created in 2016,[3][7] and blocked from Google searches in December 2016.

In November 2017, FMovies lost a lawsuit brought by Filipino media and entertainment group ABS-CBN, and was ordered to pay $210,000.[8][3][4][9][10]

In January 2018, the site was identified as a "notorious market" by the U.S. government, along with The Pirate Bay and other piracy sites.[11] In October 2018, Telia Company, a Swedish ISP, was ordered to block FMovies.[1] They appealed the order.[12] That same month, the Motion Picture Association reported FMovies along with other piracy sites to the U.S. government.[13] FMovies was blocked in Australia in December 2018, after a request in August.[14][15][16]

In February 2019, Sweden asked advertisers to blacklist some piracy and streaming sites, which included FMovies.[17] In April 2019, ISPs in India were ordered to block FMovies and other piracy sites.[18]

In October 2023, Vietnam's Ministry of Information and Communications (Vietnam) declares a joint operation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Vietnam) and Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam) divisions, with direct focus on FMovies in an effort to combat piracy.[19]

In December 2023, scrutiny heightened as the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property holds a livestreamed hearing with the Motion Picture Association, where calls for more action to be done against FMovies are requested in particular, with Karyn Temple calling for ISPs within the United States to block access to the website entirely, also citing other concerns regarding how the website may garner revenue.[20][21][22]

In July 2024 the site was reported as offline.[23] Several websites related to FMovies have followed suit next month.[24] In August 2024, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment announced that the site was shut down by Vietnamese authorities, with Hanoi police having arrested two Vietnamese men in relation to the website.[5] TorrentFreak reported that according to local police, the suspects allegedly earned “hundreds of thousands of US dollars” while operating the site, and "both men confessed in full to all alleged crimes."[25]

See also

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  • Putlocker, similar online movie streaming network
  • YIFY Torrents (or YTS), online movie file downloading network
  • Popcorn Time, a freeware program allowing users to watch movies through torrenting on several platforms
  • 123Movies, similar online movie streaming network

References

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  1. ^ a b "Court Orders Swedish ISP Telia to Block The Pirate Bay & FMovies". TorrentFreak. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  2. ^ "FMovies Loses Control of Swedish Domain, Moves to Iceland". TorrentFreak. 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  3. ^ a b c "Major 'Pirate' Movie Streaming Site Fmovies Sued in US Court". TorrentFreak. 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  4. ^ a b "US Court Orders Pirate Streaming Site FMovies to Pay $210,000". TorrentFreak. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  5. ^ a b Kilkenny, Katie (29 August 2024). "Top Movie Piracy Ring Taken Down, Major Studios' Enforcement Group Claims". The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. ^ Masunaga, Samantha (29 August 2024). "Antipiracy coalition and Vietnamese police shut down major pirate streaming business". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ "WHOIS Domain Search Revealing Registration". WHOIS.com. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  8. ^ "ABS-CBN Wants $210,000 Piracy Damages From FMovies". TorrentFreak. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  9. ^ Verma, Adarsh (2017-06-10). "Will FMovies Soon Lose Its Domain Name? Court Orders The Site To Pay $210,000". Fossbytes. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  10. ^ Sharma, Shubham (2017-06-11). "FMovies.to and FMovies.se to Shut Down Soon? US Court Orders To Pay $210,000 In Copyright Infringement Lawsuit". MobiPicker. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  11. ^ "US Govt Brands Torrent, Streaming & Cyberlocker Sites As Notorious Markets". TorrentFreak. 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  12. ^ "Swedish ISP Telia Appeals Pirate Bay Blocking Order". TorrentFreak. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  13. ^ "MPAA Reports 'Notorious' Pirate Sites to The US Government". TorrentFreak. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  14. ^ Barbaschow, Asha. "Australian court orders blocking of subtitle piracy sites". ZDNet. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  15. ^ "Australian Court Orders ISPs to Block 181 'Pirate' Domains, Including Subtitle Sites". TorrentFreak. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  16. ^ "Movie & TV Show Companies Want Subtitle Sites Blocked Down Under". TorrentFreak. 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  17. ^ "Sweden Asks Advertisers to Blacklist Streaming and Torrent Sites". TorrentFreak. 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  18. ^ "Pirate Bay, RARBG, 1337x & Torrentz2 to be Permanently Blocked in India". TorrentFreak. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  19. ^ "Vietnam Forms Specialist Unit to Tackle Pirate Sites Linked to 'Organized Crime'". TorrentFreak. 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  20. ^ "Digital Copyright Piracy: Protecting American Consumers, Workers, and Creators". 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-24 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ "Testimony of Karyn A. Temple Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel Motion Picture Association, Inc. To the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet hearing on "Digital Copyright Piracy: Protecting American Consumers, Workers, And Creators"" (PDF). House Judiciary Committee Republicans. 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  22. ^ "Pirate Site Blocking Demands Intensify as U.S. Lawmakers Get Fmovies Walkthrough". TorrentFreak. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  23. ^ Van der Sar, Ernesto (July 17, 2024). "Fmovies Has Gone Offline, the End of a Pirate Streaming Giant?". TorrentFreak. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  24. ^ Van der Sar, Ernesto (28 August 2024). "Pirate Streaming Giants Fboxz, AniWave, Zoroxtv & Others Dead in Major Collapse". TorrentFreak. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  25. ^ Maxwell, Andy (November 13, 2024). "FMovies Piracy 'Mastermind' Confesses, Authorities Confirm Piracy Prosecution". TorrentFreak.
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