MPAA shuts torrent services, goes after online pirates

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is behind the shutdown of the torrent site YTS, and pirate streaming service Popcorn Time.

TorrentFreak reported that the MPAA filed a legal suit on 9 October 2015 against the operators of the Popcorntime.io fork in Canada.

The legal documents argued that Popcorntime “enabled, authorised, and induced copyright infringement via an app that allowed viewers to watch pirated movies and TV shows”.

The MPAA then obtained an injunction on 16 October 2015, ordering the shutdown of the site.

It did not stop there. On 12 October movie industry representatives filed a suit in a New Zealand court, targeting the operator of the YTS/YIFY service who is a New Zealand resident.

“The movie industry representatives had a warrant and threatened a multi-million dollar lawsuit, urging the operator to cooperate,” TorrentFreak reported. The MPAA also obtained an interim injunction to shut down the site.

“This coordinated legal action is part of a larger comprehensive approach being taken by the MPAA and its international affiliates to combat content theft,” said MPAA chairman Chris Dodd.

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