Streaming fans face less illegal content being posted online as a new block takes effect (Image: GETTY)
It’s been a bad week for anyone streaming movies online for free. This often illegal way of watching movies has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, and it’s not hard to see why with premium content being offered on the Internet without signing up for expensive subscriptions.
However, two very high-profile crackdowns have made viewing content online without permission much more difficult. The first shutdown came earlier this week with news that Alliance For Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) had shut down one of the world’s most popular streaming sites.
123movies.la, is now officially offline, meaning the 30 million monthly users no longer have access to the huge catalog of free movies.
Now there is another block that seems to be disrupting the streams appearing online.
ACE – which is backed by some of the world’s largest movie studios and media companies, including Amazon, Fox, Netflix, MGM, HBO, Sky, Paramount and Disney, has just launched one of the world’s most prolific providers of ripped and uploaded illegal content .
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Also known as “Not the Grinch,” NTG has been a headache for movie companies since 2018, with the team responsible for some 4,600 illegal releases in the past year alone.
In fact, some new movies and TV shows were made available to the public within minutes of the title’s legitimate digital / streaming release. That means fans could watch long before
ACE’s shutdown of NTG indicates that the coalition will step up its efforts to shut down operators conducting and uploading piracy operations.
“The discontinuation of NTG’s operations is another victory for ACE and sends a clear signal to illegal operators working in the ripping and uploading space that ACE will find you and take enforcement action against you,” said Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Content Protection for the Motion Picture Association. “Illegal piracy operations such as NTG endanger innovation, creativity and investment to the detriment of creators, innovators and consumers. That’s why ACE works around the clock from all over the world to protect the integrity of the world’s legal film, TV and streaming industry. “
An NTG spokesperson publicly acknowledged the group’s wrongdoing and the damage it has caused to the creative community: “We are aware of the damage NTG has done to the many people who work so hard to provide entertainment for a wide audience. and we take full responsibility. for the damage we have done to the industry, ”said the NTG spokesperson. “We mistakenly thought we could hide behind the anonymity of the internet, but we got caught and agreed to stop.”
ACE says the theft of online content is the biggest threat to the global creative community. It harms both local and foreign films and businesses, threatens jobs, undermines investment, lowers tax contributions to governments, and stifles creativity.
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