Copyright Trolls Targeted Over 100,000 IP-addresses in Sweden


In the early 2000s, Sweden was considered to be a relatively safe haven for pirates.

The country was the home of the Pirate Bay, the birthing ground of the Pirate Party, and a place where for many citizens file-sharing was second nature.

Today, this safe haven has long disappeared. The Scandinavian country has prosecuted several torrent site operators, including The Pirate Bay’s founders, while lawsuits targeting individual BitTorrent users are a common sight.

In many ways, Sweden has become a copyright enforcement hotspot. This includes the ‘copyright-trolling’ phenomenon, in which movie companies target hundreds or thousands of alleged pirates hoping to secure monetary settlements.

The first wave of these lawsuits started three years ago but the practice has grown exponentially since. According to Swedish Internet provider Bahnhof, which has kept track of these cases since early 2017, the number of new cases has already broken a record this year.

During the first three quarters of 2019, a total of 78 new applications were submitted to the Patent and Market Court. This is up from 72 during the whole of 2018, and substantially more than the 27 applications that were filed a year earlier.

While the number of applications has grown, the cases target fewer IP-addresses in total. Last year over 50,000 IPs were targeted and the 2019 total so far is 26,274 IP addresses. Combined with the 2017 numbers, we see that more than 100,000 IP-addresses have been targeted over the past three years.

It’s worth noting that this exceeds the number of targets in other, much larger countries, including the United States.

This type of data is not something an Internet provider would generally release, but it makes sense considering that Bahnhof is an active anti-copyright trolling advocate. The company categorically refuses to share data with copyright holders, as it also makes clear in its press release.

While Bahnhof must retain IP-address logs by law, it operates separate databases. Data is only disclosed to law enforcement authorities for specific purposes and not for this type of copyright enforcement.

“This means that Bahnhof’s customers have not suffered from this type of extortion letter,” the Internet provider notes.

Looking at the targeted ISPs over the past year we see that most of the targeted IP-addresses belong to Telia subscribers, followed by Com Hem, and Telenor. The rightsholders who file these cases are represented by a variety of law firms, including the well known Njord Law.

While Bahnhof is indirectly using these figures to promote its own business, the company hopes that these ‘copyright-trolling’ practices will eventually end, perhaps following an intervention from the Government. According to the company, the entire process is based on extortion.

“The success factor of the letters is partly that they can easily be mistaken for genuine invoices or fines, and the threat of a legal process that drives people to pay out of pure fear, even when they are innocent. The business model is thus based on regular extortion,” Bahnhof notes.

The Swedish Internet provider also maintains a dedicated website called Utpressningskollen where it provides additional details and information on Swedish copyright-trolling efforts.

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Epic Games and ‘Cheating’ Fortnite Kid Settle Copyright Lawsuit


Frustrated by thousands of cheaters who wreak havoc in Fortnite’s “Battle Royale,” game publisher Epic Games has taken several to court.

The game developer isn’t trying to bankrupt these people financially. The main goal appears to be to stop the cheaters and prevent them from encouraging and facilitating others to do the same.

In most instances, the alleged cheaters are eager to settle the cases. However, a YouTuber called CBV, who was sued by Epic Games this summer, started out by returning fire. Despite his relatively young age of 14 years old, he showed no sign of backing off.

The alleged cheater lawyered up and responded by filing a motion to dismiss at a North Carolina federal court. Among other things, his attorneys pointed out that the Court doesn’t have jurisdiction over this client and that requiring a minor to defend himself in another state would be unreasonable.

The games company, which hit the minor (referred to as C.B. in the complaint) with several claims, including copyright infringement and breaches of the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision, wasn’t planning on letting CBV get away with it though.

Epic Games countered that it had a solid case, noting that the defendant’s cheating activity continued despite the lawsuit.

With both sides choosing not to back off, the lawsuit seemed destined for a drawn-out fight. But it didn’t get to that. Behind the scenes, the parties came together to settle their differences without court intervention. This has now resulted in a settlement that’s formalized through an order of approval by the court.

With help from pro bono attorneys and his mother Kari as a General Guardian, C.B. reached a confidential settlement with Epic Games. It’s unclear whether there is a damages amount involved, but both sides have dropped their (counter)claims, effectively ending the dispute.

“Defendant’s General Guardian and Defendant agree and are satisfied that the Settlement Agreement that is the subject of this Order is fair and reasonable. In particular, Defendant’s General Guardian and Defendant believe that the terms of the Settlement Agreement properly account for C.B.’s status as a minor,” the order reads.

From the Order of Approval (pdf)

As part of the settlement, the defendant likely agreed not to engage in any cheating activities. This includes uploading cheat videos on YouTube, which he initially continued to do on a new YouTube channel.

The defendant also continued to develop and sell cheat software, Epic Games previously said. After the lawsuit was filed he created a new website, NexusCheats.us, which was advertised through his YouTube videos. At the time of writing, this website is no longer online.

When the lawsuit was first announced (C.B.) CBV responded with some quite aggressive language on his YouTube channel, but since then the channel has gone quiet. The last upload dates back three months and, given the settlement, it’s unlikely that any new Fortnite cheat videos will appear there going forward.

For Epic Games, these lawsuits are the only way to remove some cheat videos from YouTube. If a YouTuber continues to dispute a DMCA takedown request, as happened in this case, YouTube will restore the video unless a lawsuit is filed.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.





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Improve Your Travel Experience with a VPN

The average person who goes on one vacation per year might not be familiar with the advantages of a VPN. However, if you travel frequently abroad, you have probably experienced several internet connections inconveniences. Whenever you leave the country, your online freedom will be limited based on your location, but a good VPN service can prevent most of these inconveniences. These services are easy to use, and many of them are free of charge. In the following lines, we will detail what a VPN is, how it works and most importantly how it can improve your travel experience. 

Based on our guide, you can check out our free VPN services list of recommendations and choose the most convenient VPN for your needs. 

What is a VPN

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. These networks were initially designed for business use, but given their practicality, they are now available to any consumer. A private network works as a tunnel, protecting the information that you send and receive. This applies to all the data that you use online, whether we are talking about your e-mails, the sites you use, login information, your location and much more. Everything is kept private with the use of a VPN. 

VPN advantages for travelers

A virtual private network is extremely useful in any situation, as we all value privacy. However, it is significantly more useful for people who travel abroad. Here are its main advantages:

  • Security – Due to high roaming costs, when traveling abroad, you might need to connect to public networks. As convenient as they might seem, public networks are very unsafe. They lack security options and they can expose you to viruses or information fraud. With a VPN, you can excess any private network without and keep your online activity away from prying eyes.
  • Access to any website – Many websites restrict their content based on location. For example, certain countries have censorship laws that block certain websites, and there are websites that only offer free browsing for certain locations. A virtual private network masks your real location and can connect you to servers from all over the world, making it seem as if you are in a different location. 
  • Prevent having your bank account blocked – If you forgot to notify your bank that you are leaving the country when you use the card abroad your account might be blocked for unusual activity. To prevent this from happening, use a VPN and connect to a server from your home country in order to access your bank account.  
most convenient VPN

Tips for choosing a quality VPN

While their basic principles are the same, the quality of a VPN can differ based on the extra features that they offer. Here’s what you should look for in a good VPN:

  • Multi-device use – Most people use VPNs for laptops, but it pays to invest in a private network that can be used on several devices simultaneously. Make sure to choose a network that is compatible with the operating systems of all the smart devices that you own. 
  • Worldwide coverage – A good private network should have servers all over the world. However, some countries have security measures that prevent the use of VPNs. Read reviews and check with the VPN protocol to make sure that you will be able to use the network in your next travel. We advise you to download and install the VPN before leaving your home country, as some countries can restrict access to VPN providers. There are also movie streaming websites such as Netflix that use VPN blockers so if you plan on using a VPN to keep up with your favorite TV-shows look for a VPN that is guaranteed to bypass the geo security measures of your favorite websites. 
  • Speed – Due to the fact that it filters your data, any VPN will decrease the speed of your connection to a certain degree. Nonetheless, how much this speed is decreased depends on the quality of the network. Our advice would be to ask for trial versions of different networks and perform some speed tests before paying for a subscription.  
  • Security – Not all VPNs offer the same level of security. Most VPNs often offer basic security features that can easily be hacked. Our advice is to opt for a network with 256-bit encryption. There are also other features that add extra layers of safety. For example, a kill switch option will automatically stop all traffic coming in and out of your device in the unlikely event that you are disconnected from the VPN service. 
  • Support and ease of use – A VPN should not be a complicated software that can only be used by tech-savvy people. In fact, good VPNs are as easy to use and install as software from an app store. Last but not least, no service is perfect, so make sure to opt for a VPN with 24/7 online and telephone support. This way, if you experience any difficulties, you can count on the support team to fix them, no matter where you are in the world. 
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Landmark Russian Anti-Piracy Agreement Extended Until End October 2019


Last year, leading Russia-based content companies and distributors plus Yandex, Rambler Group, Mail.Ru Group, vKontakte, and RuTube signed up to a landmark anti-piracy memorandum.

It would see search engines voluntarily query a centralized database of allegedly-infringing content before deleting links to the same from their search results. However, while waiting for the terms of that agreement to be written into law, last Monday the time-limited memorandum expired.

As reported last week, content companies hoped that search engines would continue the deletions, despite the agreement expiring. It now transpires that following further negotiations, the parties have agreed to an official extension of the memorandum.

According to sources cited by Vedomosti, leading search engine Yandex didn’t disappoint rightsholders since it continued to delete ‘pirate’ links even after the expiry date. One of the signatories to the agreement added that the parties now intend to carry on with the terms of the memorandum until the end of October 2019.

The official four-week extension has been put in place so that the draft law can be finalized and introduced to the State Duma before the end of the month.

If this happens as planned, the anti-piracy memorandum will receive an automatic secondary extension until the end of the year, telecoms watchdog Roscomnadzor reports.

“The memorandum has been extended until October 31, 2019. If the bill is submitted to the State Duma no later than October 31, 2019, the memorandum will be automatically extended until December 31, 2019,” a spokesperson told TASS.

While the extra month’s worth of breathing space will be useful, there is still no news of agreement on the issue said to have played a key role in the delay.

Rightsholders and content companies have demanded the introduction of a so-called ‘repeat infringer’ clause, which would see sites permanently removed from search results if they are continually flagged as hosting or linking to ‘pirate’ content.

Internet companies are strongly in opposition so a compromise may be needed, especially if the end-of-the-month deadline is to be met.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.





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RIAA Believes The Pirate Bay Blocks US Visitors, But it Doesn’t


The Pirate Bay is without a doubt one of the most blocked websites around the world.

The first court-ordered blockade against the site was issued in Denmark, more than a decade ago, and dozens of other countries have followed since.

We have come to a point where ‘yet another’ Pirate Bay blockade is hardly newsworthy, but this week something quite unusual appeared on our radar. Apparently, The Pirate Bay itself jumped on the bandwagon by starting to block US visitors, its largest userbase, out of the blue.

This revelation comes from the widely respected music industry group RIAA, which keeps a close eye on the popular torrent site.

A few days ago the group sent its latest overview of “notorious markets” to the US Trade Representative. As usual, The Pirate Bay was prominently featured. It is the single most popular BitTorrent index site in the world, the RIAA says, then adding that for some reason the site no longer accepts American visitors.

“Earlier this year, thepiratebay began blocking U.S. IP addresses. However, the site remains easily accessible using a free proxy service that makes it appear the user is accessing the site from another jurisdiction,” the RIAA writes in its submission to the USTR.

That’s odd, to say the least. While the site has had some (localized) connectivity issues, perhaps due to routing problems, we had never heard of such a blockade. Interestingly, The Pirate Bay team itself has no clue what the RIAA is referring to either.

TorrentFreak reached out to a TPB moderator, who wasn’t aware of any US visitor ban and through a trusted source we learned that the people running the site are not blocking anything.

This makes sense, as we spoke to several people who can still access the site just fine from the US. Also, the United States remains the top traffic source for the site by far, as SimilarWeb data shows. That certainly wouldn’t be the case if US visitors were not allowed.

We have no idea why the RIAA believes otherwise. Perhaps the group was confused by an earlier outage that mainly affected US visitors, but it can be ‘assured’ that this is definitely not intended by the Pirate Bay team.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.





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The Day Shall Come…When Content Companies Address the Streaming Farce


Image result for chris morris
Credit: Petr Novák

British writer, director, and satirical genius Chris Morris has been body-slamming the media and establishment with biting dark, satirical comedy for decades in the UK.

With his groundbreaking The Day Today series and the polarizing but brilliant Brass Eye, Morris has established himself as a force to be reckoned with.

For those out of the loop, this is a man who managed to convince Conservative MP David Amess – who was later appointed chair of the Psychoactive Substances Bill Committee – to bring up the horrors of a new street drug in a Parliamentary debate. The drug was a giant dinner plate-sized yellow pill called ‘Cake’ and it didn’t even exist.

Adding to his notoriety, Morris also flashed a message containing one of the world’s most offensive words during the eventual TV airing of a show canceled by the UK’s Channel 4, declaring the channel’s then-chief executive to be that four-letter uttering. Morris is scared of no one, and that’s why people love him.

So, after waiting nine long years for Morris to follow up on his daring and unflinching 2010 terrorism-farce movie masterpiece Four Lions, you might understand why the build-up to his new movie The Day Shall Come has been excruciating for his fans, especially those who want to financially support him.

“Based on 100 true stories, the explosive new film from Chris Morris (Four Lions, Brass Eye) is an emotionally gripping, laugh out loud thriller that exposes the dark farce at the heart of the homeland security project: It is harder to catch a real terrorist than it is to manufacture your own,” the movie’s homepage reads.

Sadly, I – one of Morris’s most enduring and fervent fans – will have to take his word for it. I shall indeed be in the UK when the movie goes on general theatrical release on October 11 but as I write this on Tuesday, Oct 1, frustration has set in like never before. And that really shouldn’t have happened.

On my regular news-tour of torrent sites I could see that the movie had already appeared online. It’s a so-called WEBRip release, meaning that it was ripped from a legitimate streaming service. Considering that Morris has built his celluloid history and fanbase, not to mention infamy in the UK, that means it must have been ripped from a UK source and available to buy, right?

Industry anti-piracy initiatives such as the UK’s GetitRight (from a Genuine Site) are 100% targeted at people who have the ability to pirate but might be persuaded to part with their money instead, so this was a great opportunity to test the system with something I actually care about.

So, with cash in hand, seeking out a source for a legitimate purchase, I headed off to the portal. It couldn’t help me directly and I was subsequently directed to FindAnyFilm.com, where the movie is indeed listed.

With options to ‘Buy to Own’ turning up nothing for Blu-ray, DVD, or Digital, the ‘Watch Now’ option (streaming) seemed the final but perfect option. Unfortunately, both ‘buy’ and ‘rent’ turned up absolutely nothing. No options whatsoever, with no idea provided when they might become available.

It’s not FindAnyFilm’s fault, it’s not GetitRight’s fault, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. I was already two websites into this mission and it was not going well.

A direct search on Amazon.co.uk did reveal a DVD listing for £10.00 but that was accompanied by a message stating that “This title has not yet been released. You may pre-order it now and we will deliver it to you when it arrives.” Even if I wanted a DVD, which I do not, no release date was provided. Which is absolutely useless. Three websites in.

After various inquiries it soon became clear that Amazon.com was the only straightforwardly obvious place where Morris’s new film might be streamed in the UK. So I tried to log in and surprise – Amazon.com didn’t like it one bit.

The company sent me a one-time validation code, to prove I am indeed me, which I used after receiving it via email. Once logged-in I tried to ‘rent’ the movie but of course, it was unavailable for purchase because I wasn’t in the United States and my payment method was apparently “invalid”. It wasn’t, I’d used it minutes earlier. Four websites in, and an email. No movie.

In my opinion, the steps taken above go way beyond reasonable. Exactly how many hoops do these companies, that combine to present these content distribution machines to the public, expect people to jump through to willingly part themselves from their money in order to support the industry?

For those who know Morris and appreciate his work, this is the kind of ridiculous situation he himself might dismantle with glee, particularly considering The Day Shall Come was in part funded by the UK National Lottery/BFI Film Fund. The citizens of that country, who helped to fund it, cannot see it online at the same time as their US counterparts.

There will be pirates out there laughing to themselves wondering why I didn’t click on the magnet link I saw earlier and simply download the movie, there and then, and save all the headaches. After all, that would’ve been one site visited, one movie watched. For free.

But for someone who actually wants to support Chris Morris and in industry-speak, “make sure he can make more movies in the future”, why shouldn’t I be able to pay if I want to?

The answer is simple: ‘they’ – whoever they are – won’t let me. The Day Shall Come when this nonsense gets sorted out but people’s patience may have run out by then, if they can be bothered to expend any at all. The content is available legally so for the sake of sanity, let us – the fans – buy it.

Our Shatner’s Bassoons – even without Cake – can’t take any more.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbq3kc29Tmg&w=560&h=315]

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.





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LEGO Upsets Fans by Taking Down Homebrew 3D Print Designs


While the 3D printing revolution is still in its early days, people are already able to download and print pretty much everything imaginable, including houses and cars.

Larger and more complicated objects still require specialist tools and other parts, but smaller things that consist of easily printable material are reasonably easy to make.

Take LEGO bricks, for example, which have relatively easy shapes and usually consist of plastic. Pair this with a userbase of millions of ‘fans’ and it’s easy to see why these toys are popular among 3D hobbyists, if only for nostalgic reasons.

And indeed, while browsing through some of the popular websites where people share homemade 3D printing designs, we see hundreds if not thousands of LEGO ‘inspired’ designs. The associated STL files are generally available to other members of the public, who can download them for free.

While this seems like a relatively harmless niche activity, LEGO sees things differently. Last week we were alerted to various takedown notices the company had sent recently. Apparently, it sees some 3D blueprints as copyright and/or trademark infringements.

That’s also true for the “Customizable Wall Switch Plate +/- LEGO 2” Thingiverse user “Lucina” had uploaded. The design is question was targeted in a takedown notice and removed, as documented on Reddit. The original LEGO brick patents have long expired, so it’s not entirely clear what the alleged infringement is here.

The Wall Switch Plate which is now gone.

TorrentFreak spoke to Lucina, who actually had several designs taken down from Thingiverse and Cults3D, but never saw an actual complaint. Some people have since suggested that using the term LEGO in the designs could be an issue, but several other uploads that used that same term were not targeted.

To avoid any legal trouble Lucina chose to voluntarily remove all LEGO files from Thingiverse and Cults3D later did the same.

“They flagged two out of five of my Lego designs and prevented downloads. The other three were still active. Not wanting to be sued, I deleted all five. I later got an email from Cults3D saying that they deleted all of my Lego designs for me,” Lucina told us.

Earlier this week, the issue was picked up by 3D printing industry news site 3D Printing Industry which got in touch with LEGO, but without any real results. LEGO Group states that it sees 3D printing as a promising technology and is considering using it themselves, but the precise reason for the takedown remains a mystery.

It may take a while before LEGO’s motivations are revealed. The company’s Associate Manager Corporate Communications said that the company deals with a high volume of queries. As such, it might take weeks before it explains on what grounds it sent trademark and copyright takedown notices targeting 3D fan art.

Whatever the reason is, the creators and users of these homebrew creations are not happy. They just see their pastime as a fun hobby, but this fun swiftly disappears when files are taken down.

“This is absolutely ludicrous @LEGO_Group!! You’re getting free marketing with ZERO potential loss of revenue. Who is going to print any of these things instead of buying LEGOS?! Maybe focus on continuing to make awesome stuff instead of punishing your fans who promote your cause?” Twitter user Repkord notes.

Many others agree that, instead of protecting its brand, LEGO could actually be alienating its biggest fans.

“Thinking about what @LEGO_Group has been doing to their 3D printing and 3D modeling fans lately reminds me of how labels treated mp3 music and sampling a few years back or how print treated online. Stay in the past, die in the blast,” Twitter user jmtosses added.

The overall sentiment from 3D designers is that LEGO’s actions went too far. While it certainly might have a legitimate complaint, going after some of the biggers fans may not be the best strategy.

If LEGO’s goal was to stop people from sharing anything LEGO-related they have at least booked some success. Lucina is never uploading a LEGO design again.

“Personally I don’t think Lego should have come at me, a 3D printing hobbyist. I might design other compatible parts, but I will never share another LEGO design online,” Lucina told us

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.





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As RIAA Targets Yet More YouTube-Ripping Sites, Here’s the State of Play


Over the past few years, users ripping music from sites like YouTube has been portrayed by the industry as a bigger problem than torrent sites.

According to stats published by industry group IFPI last year, 32% of all Internet users were stream rippers, up from 30% in 2016. This, according to the group, made it the leading form of music piracy.

Last week, however, a new report revealed that the practice is actually on a downward trend, with 23% of those surveyed admitting to using stream-ripping services. Despite the big decrease, the RIAA isn’t likely to step away from its enforcement efforts anytime soon, as evidenced by a new application filed at a US court.

The application for a DMCA subpoena filed in the District of Columbia targets three sites that are either directly or indirectly linked to YouTube-ripping.

In common with several previous applications, this one also requires domain registry Namecheap to hand over the personal details of their operators, providing names, physical addresses, IP addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, payment information and more.

The first, YouTubeMP4.biz, recently suffered a drop in traffic according to SimilarWeb stats but that blip aside, has been pulling in up to 1.2 million visits per month throughout 2019. It is most popular in the United States, followed by the UK, Thailand, India and Turkey.

Next up is Keepvid.ws, which at around three million visits per month is the most popular in the application. Perhaps unusually given the close interest of the RIAA, the YouTube-ripping platform is most popular in South Africa, with around 16% of its traffic coming from the region. India and the United States follow with around 10% each.

The last of the RIAA’s latest targets is HDMP4.net, which on the surface seems different from the rest. When accessing the site’s URL directly, visitors are greeted with a blank page, which is unusual for a stream-ripping platform.

Furthermore, Google reveals that HDMP4.net has had just a handful of DMCA notices filed against it over the past several years, the last in 2015, with none coming from the music industry. However, checking in Google’s indexes reveals that the site isn’t indexed, so that makes sense.

The RIAA does mention some specific URLs carrying its content, including tracks by Cyndi Lauper and ZZ Top, which raises the question of whether other sites are using it in some way. Indeed, checks using various resources indicate that the site, which only gained significant traffic in June this year, seems connected to a number of other ripping services.

The big question remains whether the raft of DMCA subpoenas obtained by the RIAA against companies such as Namecheap and Cloudflare are having any direct effect on the operations of these platforms. While things are probably going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about, in the main most previously-targeted sites seem unaffected.

In May, the RIAA tried to extract the personal details of huge ripping site Y2Mate.com from Cloudflare and Namecheap. At the time the site had around 60 million monthly visits and despite the efforts, remains stubbornly online today.

The only real difference now is that SimilarWeb reports the site enjoying in excess of 130 million monthly visits, more than double the traffic reported back in May. The company recently changed the way it calculates traffic but it seems unlikely to have had this much of an effect, particularly since other online measurement sites also show a big upward trend.

On the flip side, a separate effort in May to unmask the operator of YouTubNow.com, a site with 15 million monthly visits, may have paid off. The site currently carries a “maintenance” message and its traffic has tanked to almost zero. That can probably go in the success column for the RIAA.

Back in June, the RIAA homed-in on 10Convert.com, Amoyshare.com, AnythingtoMP3.cc, IMP3Juices.com, BigConverter.com, YouTubeMP4.to, QDownloader.net, GenYouTube.net, Break.TV, DL-YouTube-MP3.net, ConvertBox.net, and Downloaders.io.

At the time of writing, only ConvertBox.net seems completely down while BigConverter.com might have resorted to blocking UK traffic for reasons unknown. The rest are operational, which doesn’t sound like a notable success rate. That being said, the RIAA may have other goals in mind so the bigger picture may play out in time.

By the industry’s own accounting, stream-ripping is on a downward trend but whether that’s attributable to the RIAA’s takedown efforts remains open to speculation. That being said, the RIAA will argue it has to do something, so the pressure is likely to continue.

The latest DMCA subpoena granted by the court can be found here (pdf)

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Do you really need a VPN for IPTV?

IPTV, which means Internet Protocol Television, is gaining a lot of popularity over the years around the world. People in every country have been using it more and more each year in order to cut the cord and to watch their favourite content. However, you may also heard that is best when using IPTV to have a certain level of protection, that is also true when it comes to the use of pretty much anything on the internet these days. And the best way for protecting yourself online is a VPN. But, do you really need a VPN for IPTV? In my opinion the answer to that question is an absolute yes but let’s also explain why. Also by using a reliable and secure VPN like Surfshark you will make sure to be invisible and protected online.

IPTV is monitored

IPTV is typically closely monitored, meaning that if you use it without protection, you might find yourself monitored as well. You may have heard the latest news regarding Xtream Codes and the privacy issues that were created from it. Some IPTV use may involve streaming copyrighted material and this makes it topic open to debate. But with that in mind, it is important to protect your privacy online. What you watch is no one’s business but yours, and it should stay that way. That doesn’t mean we condone streaming copyright material and you should ensure whatever IPTV services you’re using are completely legal and you have the rights to be watching them. But since in some cases that is also not always easy to control, making sure your privacy is protected by using a secure VPN like Surfshark will let you sleep safe at night.

IPTV streams suffer from ISP bandwidth throttling

This is not always the case but unfortunately it is becoming a trend lately among ISPs. Not just for IPTV but also other streaming sources like Netflix, Youtube and more, are suffering by this bad practise of some ISP that is throttling, meaning intentional slowing the internet service. This is their way to limit usage of not promoted applications by the specific ISP and forcing to subscribe to their own services. In a lot of countries that is illegal, but not in the United States anymore. Even if in some countries this is illegal, there is no real control and it is also hard to prove, so some ISP are abusing their ability to control your internet speed. By using a secure VPN there is no way for the ISP to know what you are actually doing online so that they can limit your speed. So in order to avoid buffering, using a VPN is a really wise choice. Surfshark makes sure to bypass internet throttling, giving you back your real internet speed whatever you do online.

vpn for iptv

Some IPTV is Geo blocked

Some IPTV services are geo-blocked. That means that will only work for some geographical locations and if you are not living in one of them, you wouldn’t be able to access them. But one of the advantages of using a VPN is that you get to choose which country’s server you want to use. That means that you can live for example in Europe but still be recognized as a US resident by those services. And this applies not just for IPTV but also other streaming (or not just streaming) services as well. But make sure to use a reliable VPN like Surfshark with different servers worldwide and that can guarantee optimal speeds.

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London Retailer Convicted for Selling Pirate Streaming Boxes


Pirate streaming boxes remain widely appealing to a broad audience. At a fraction of the normal costs, they open the door to all sorts of broadcasts, including football matches.

On the sports side, BeoutQ has shown to be is a thorn in the side of many rightsholders. It launched in 2017 and ever since various parties have tried to stop it’s infringing activity.

While BeoutQ remains widely available today, the Premier League can chalk up a new victory with the conviction of a London seller of streaming boxes. The devices in question offered access to BeoutQ as well as several other illegal channels, such as beIN and Sky.

The conviction, handed down by the City of London Magistrates’ Court this week, follows a joint investigation from the English Football League and FACT. The Premier League subsequently prosecuted the 39-year-old seller, Ammar Al-Silawi, with success.

Following a trial earlier this month, Mr. Al-Silawi received a sentence of 300 hours of unpaid community service. In addition, the vendor is required to pay the Premier League’s legal costs.

The sentencing is unique, according to the Premier League. In the UK, it’s the first time that selling pirate set-top boxes was deemed to be an act of communicating infringing copies of copyright works to the public. This is in line with the Filmspeler judgment from the European Court of Justice.

“The law is very clear that the sale of ISDs is illegal and it is an issue taken very seriously by both the police and the courts,” says Kevin Plumb, Premier League Director of Legal Services.

“We will continue to investigate and pursue all suppliers of illegal streaming services, regardless of the size or scale of their operation, to protect the intellectual property that enables the Premier League to be so competitive and compelling.”

FACT is equally pleased with the outcome and Chief Executive Kieron Sharp notes that it serves as a stark warning to other vendors.

“The message is now unequivocal; if you sell a device that provides access to content that is not licensed or owned by you, you will face a criminal conviction. Illicit retailers should be aware of the Court’s view that ignoring a cease and desist notice was a clear aggravating factor in this case,” Sharp says.

While the rightsholders certainly have something to be pleased about, the community order sentence pales in comparison with earlier pirate streaming vendor convictions, which resulted in multi-year prison sentences.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.





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