Streaming
Musician admits to $10M streaming royalty fraud using AI bots
North Carolina musician Michael Smith has pleaded guilty to collecting over $10 million in royalty payments through a massive streaming royalty fraud scheme on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music. 54-year-old Smith bought hundreds of thousands of songs generated using artificial intelligence (AI) from an accomplice, uploaded them to these streaming platforms, and […]
Spain orders NordVPN, ProtonVPN to block LaLiga piracy sites
A Spanish court has granted precautionary measures against NordVPN and ProtonVPN, ordering the two popular VPN providers to block 16 websites that facilitate piracy of football matches. The restrictions will apply to a dynamic list of IP addresses in Spain, and there will be no opportunity for appeals. The measures were taken ‘inaudita parte’, meaning that the […]
Ongoing SoundCloud issue blocks VPN users with 403 server error
Users accessing the SoundCloud audio streaming platform through a virtual private network (VPN) connection are denied access to the service and see a 403 ‘forbidden’ error. SoundCloud is a large audio distribution platform focused on user-uploaded content, built around independent creators rather than licensed music from major labels. It has at least 140 million registered users and 40 […]
MKVCinemas streaming piracy service with 142M visits shuts down
An anti-piracy coalition has dismantled one of India’s most popular streaming piracy services, which has provided free access to movies and TV shows to millions over the past two years. Backed by over 50 major television networks and film studios, including Disney, Warner Bros, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Universal Pictures, the Alliance for Creativity […]
TV streaming piracy service with 26M yearly visits shut down
Photocall, a TV piracy streaming platform with over 26 million users annually, has ceased operations following a joint investigation by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and DAZN. The piracy service provided users with unauthorized access to 1,127 TV channels from 60 countries, including live sports content. In total, almost 30% of its visitors […]
Microsoft fixes streaming issues triggered by Windows updates
Microsoft has resolved severe lag and stuttering issues with NDI streaming software affecting Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems after installing the August 2025 security updates. The company confirmed these problems after receiving widespread reports from users who experienced a range of performance issues while using various streaming apps, including OBS (Open Broadcast Software) and NDI Tools. “Severe stuttering, lag, and choppy audio/video might […]
Police disrupts Streameast, largest pirated sports streaming network
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and Egyptian authorities have shut down Streameast, the world’s largest illegal live sports streaming network, and arrested two people allegedly associated with the operation. Streameast, operational since 2018, was a free streaming service supported by advertisements, providing access to HD streams from licensed broadcasters. Streameast reportedly operates 80 […]
Microsoft: August Windows updates cause severe streaming issues
Microsoft has confirmed that the August 2025 security updates are causing severe lag and stuttering issues with NDI streaming software on some Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems. This comes after widespread reports from users experiencing a wide range of performance problems when using various streaming apps, including OBS (Open Broadcast Software), “Severe stuttering, lag, and choppy audio/video might occur when […]
Massive IPTV piracy service with 28,000 channels taken offline
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) announced the shutdown of Rare Breed TV, a major illegal IPTV service provider, after reaching a financial settlement with its operators. North Carolina-based Rare Breed TV was one of the world’s largest digital piracy operations, claiming to offer subscribers access to over 28,000 channels and more than 100,000 movies and […]
Operator of Jetflix illegal streaming service gets 7 years in prison
The ringleader of the Jetflicks illegal paid streaming operation, a massive service with tens of thousands of subscribers, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Together with four other accomplices, 42-year-old Kristopher Lee Dallmann of Las Vegas, Nevada, was convicted in June 2024 of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. Dallmann was also found guilty by […]