“World’s largest” piracy streaming website shut down by police in Vietnam – Times of India

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) announced Thursday that Vietnamese authorities have dismantled what it calls “the largest pirate streaming operation in the world.”Fmovies and its network of affiliated sites, which attracted over 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024, have been taken offline following a raid by Hanoi police.
Two suspects were arrested in connection with the operation, though charges have not yet been filed. The shutdown also included the video hosting provider Vidsrc.to and its affiliated sites, which ACE claims were operated by the same group.
Charles Rivkin, CEO of the Motion Picture Association and chairman of ACE, hailed the action as “a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe.” The coalition, which includes major players like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros., has long fought against digital piracy.

Fmovies and other illegal streaming websites goes down

Fmovies, launched in 2016, had become a dominant force in illegal streaming. At its peak in 2023, it ranked as the 11th most popular website globally in the TV, movies, and streaming category, according to data analytics company SimilarWeb. The network included popular piracy sites such as bflixz, flixtorz, movies7, myflixer, and aniwave.
The operation also shut down video hosting provider Vidsrc.to and its affiliated sites, which ACE says were operated by the same group.
This action comes amid a broader crackdown on piracy sites. Other popular illegal streaming platforms like Aniwave and AnimeFlix have also recently gone offline, though ACE has not claimed direct responsibility for those shutdowns.
Studios have long battled online piracy, which they say costs them significant revenue. However, some argue that the popularity of piracy sites stems partly from fragmented content across multiple legal streaming services and disappearing catalogs.
Larissa Knapp, chief content protection officer for the MPA, said the Fmovies takedown sends a “powerful deterrent message” to other piracy operations.
The action has sent shockwaves through online communities dedicated to pirated content. Users on platforms like Reddit have expressed dismay and scrambled to find alternative sites. Some former piracy site operators have posted messages encouraging users to switch to legal paid services out of respect for content creators.