Feds Seize Domain Names, Assets in Crackdown on Movie Piracy Websites
The fight against pirated movies has taken a new turn.
U.S. authorities have seized the domain names for nine websites and assets from 15 banks, Paypal and investment and advertising accounts, according to stories by the Associated Press, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.
The computers running the websites were based in four foreign countries and in Colorado, Florida and Illinois, the Wall Street Journal says. But all the domain names were registered through U.S.-based services.
Past enforcement efforts have focused on illegal downloads and the sale of pirated content, the stories say.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara released a statement about the crackdown, announced on Wednesday. “If your business model is movie piracy, your story will not have a happy ending,” he said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials assisted in the investigation.
