📰 New article from TorrentFreak
FIFA World Cup Triggers a Global Anti-Piracy Crackdown
https://torrentfreak.com/fifa-world-cup-triggers-a-global-anti-piracy-crackdown/
The FIFA World Cup final might be the main event, but the real action happened in the background of the internet. Authorities launched a massive, multi-national crackdown on illegal sports streaming, seizing over 1,800 domains and targeting the infrastructure that fuels pirate sites.
In the U.S., “Operation Offsides” saw the DOJ and Homeland Security Investigations team up with FIFA and major broadcasters like NBCUniversal. They didn’t just go after the obvious; they hit fallback domains and international hubs in Peru and Bulgaria. It was a fivefold increase from the 2022 Qatar crackdown, showing that anti-piracy efforts are scaling up alongside the tournament.
Meanwhile, Colombia led “Operation Red Card,” resulting in 15 arrests and the seizure of thousands of counterfeit jerseys. Argentina also tightened the noose, blocking popular brands like FútbolLibre. But the real sting came from the Trustworthy Accountability Group, which cut off ad revenue to 1,376 pirate sites.
So, did it work? Maybe, maybe not. Pirate operators are notoriously resilient, often migrating to harder-to-reach server locations the moment a domain falls. While this disruption is significant, it’s less of a knockout punch and more of a stiff uppercut. We’ll see if these sites bounce back by the next World Cup in 2030.