AfterDawn: News

ICE takes down nine piracy sites

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced the shut down of nine movie piracy sites, the first sites in a major crackdown from federal officials.

The anti-piracy initiative is dubbed "Operation in Our Sites," and is aimed at taking down sites that stream or offer downloads of films that are currently in theaters.



Movies-links.TV, nowmovies.com, thepiratecity.org, filespump.com, planetmoviez.com, zml.org, tvshack.net, ninjavideo.net and thisninja.net were all taken down.

Each site generated revenue from ads and some accept donations. All assets from the sites were seized, including PayPal and advertising accounts.

ICE president John Morton says the amount of illegal movie sites is rising rapidly, with organized crime behind a number of the bigger sites.

Morton added that the sites taken down combined for "millions and millions of hits on a monthly basis."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 1 Jul 2010 18:35

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• 44 comments

• tedmoo

  edited by ddp bastards

  1.7.2010 18:46 #1

• Mysttic

  Quote:"millions and millions of hits on a monthly basis." Uh huh, and out of those hits, millions more had already paid to see the movie and just wanted a copy on their PC; another few hundred thousands re-dl'd because the first attempt failed for whatever reason and so forth...

  1.7.2010 19:06 #2

• cis190 (unverified)

  Originally posted by tedmoo: edited by ddp bastards i know i don't get y they are worrying about stuff like this and go after crimes like rape and killing, but no they go after this and they say well people are losings money, well how come Hollywood is so freaking rich then?

  1.7.2010 19:10 #3

• ICE Faggots (unverified)

  NOOOOOOOOOO NINJAVIDEO!!!!!!! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

  1.7.2010 19:19 #4

• beanos66

  not bovvered never used em

  1.7.2010 19:26 #5

• Interestx

  Quote:ICE president John Morton says the amount of illegal movie sites is rising rapidly, with organized crime behind a number of the bigger sites.
  That'll be why almost every file-sharing site is free then, eh?
  
  What a bunch of edited by ddp liars.
  I'm surprised they just didn't wheel out child porno and terrorism too.
  
  This is just ridiculous propaganda for the people that don't use file-sharing.

  1.7.2010 19:32 #6

• Sandiiman (unverified)

  edited by ddp. Thats all I have to say

  1.7.2010 19:36 #7

• Wrennstigator (unverified)

  edited by ddp communist pigs, I should be allowed to watch a edited by ddp movie, how about they just stick to more important issues, if i dont edited by ddp pay for a movie, take down a site that has the movie still wont make me pay for the movie. my precious. that is all.

  1.7.2010 19:45 #8

• SteveBrody (unverified)

  Originally posted by fuck ICE: what the edited by ddp does the Immigration and Customs Enforcement care about this issue? you would think they would be hella busy keeping this country safe from terrorists and working on immigration. as if hollywood and their washed up, rich, whiny, drug abusing industry needs anymore money. edited by ddp you john morton. edited by ddp you. get a real job. Haha look at the boarder in Arizona... give it 3-5 more years and we will be giving back land to Mexico. ICE and the federal govt is suppose to be down there protecting our land that we bought off them centuries ago. Instead they are protecting rich people from not being able to milk more money out of us.
  
  I used ninjavideo.net to watch TV shows that I can already watch on my satellite box. How is that breaking the law if I already payed to watch them through my satellite fee?

  1.7.2010 19:50 #9

• ougen (unverified)

  ive already got ninjavideo withdrawal...and i only watched tvshows

  1.7.2010 19:55 #10

• Spamela (unverified)

  How about this...I will never ever again pay for a movie or tv show. I will cancel my cable, and the high speed cable internet connection that currently have, and go with a little slower dsl connection from my phone company. I will never buy a cd again. I will make copies of whatever I can, and distribute them to as many people as I can (which I currently don't do). I will encourage everyone I know to support our right to share our own property (the DVD I purchased or the CD I own)in whatever format I choose.
  
  I will not support the monopoly that is the entertainment world until they, and this government that is NOT of the people back the edited by ddp off.

  1.7.2010 20:27 #11

• Poopin the face (unverified)

  Lol some of the sites just moved domains and are still up.
  HHAHAHAHHA you take down 1 site and 4 will rise from the ashes.
  
  You cannot and will not control our Internet.

  1.7.2010 20:46 #12

• RIPNINJA (unverified)

  Originally posted by Poopin the face: Lol some of the sites just moved domains and are still up.
  HHAHAHAHHA you take down 1 site and 4 will rise from the ashes.
  
  You cannot and will not control our Internet. care to share

  1.7.2010 20:51 #13

• DannyBloodyKnuckles (unverified)

  Originally posted by Wrennstigator: edited by ddp communist pigs, I should be allowed to watch a edited by ddp movie, how about they just stick to more important issues, if i dont edited by ddp pay for a movie, take down a site that has the movie still wont make me pay for the movie. my precious. that is all. Communists pigs ey? No I'm pretty certain the words capitalist sluts would be more appropriate. If they were communists they would encourage things such as file sharing. Comrade.

  1.7.2010 21:38 #14

• pied (unverified)

  Actually, if you really examine who gets hurt by piracy it's the worker bees. Talk to the thousands of people who work in the trenches actually creating the content gets pirated, they are not fat cats, they are the grips, the gaffers, the carpenters, the caterers, the list goes on and on.
  
  Piracy does hurt U.S. workers. It is something to be concerned about. The Feds would have been better served to hold their press conference on an indie movie set. Also, remember that many films don't have theatrical releases like Avatar where they can make a lot of money. Many depend on DVD and VOD sales for income. Pension funds for the "workers" also receive money from post-release income.
  
  Yes, it's easy to yell corporate pigs, but really, the folks who run the studios are not the ones who are suffering. Just think about it before you jump to conclusions. I know that many of my friends who work in the film industry and have to pay rent and put food on the table for their kids are happy about this federal action. We hope there's more to come....

  1.7.2010 22:03 #15

• BALLZZZ (unverified)

  NOOOOOOOOOO! NINJAVIDEO. NOOOOOOOO!!! Didn't even use it to watch movies still in theatres, quality blew and going to the movies is a social experience that watching someones cam version cant duplicate. At least they let me finish watching all of the Rescue Me seasons before taking away my stories.

  1.7.2010 22:06 #16

• film econonomics (unverified)

  Originally posted by pied: Actually, if you really examine who gets hurt by piracy it's the worker bees. Talk to the thousands of people who work in the trenches actually creating the content gets pirated, they are not fat cats, they are the grips, the gaffers, the carpenters, the caterers, the list goes on and on.
  
  Piracy does hurt U.S. workers. It is something to be concerned about. The Feds would have been better served to hold their press conference on an indie movie set. Also, remember that many films don't have theatrical releases like Avatar where they can make a lot of money. Many depend on DVD and VOD sales for income. Pension funds for the "workers" also receive money from post-release income.
  
  Yes, it's easy to yell corporate pigs, but really, the folks who run the studios are not the ones who are suffering. Just think about it before you jump to conclusions. I know that many of my friends who work in the film industry and have to pay rent and put food on the table for their kids are happy about this federal action. We hope there's more to come.... Actually, most people who work on a film have been payed by the time it's released. Typically, Producers and their companies are the only parties who receive any money from sales and syndication.
  Pensions would not be affected, as they are fixed. They do not rise and fall after film releases, depending on sales. The only thing that fluctuates in profits.

  1.7.2010 23:23 #17

• film econonomics (unverified)

  Originally posted by film econonomics: Originally posted by pied: Actually, if you really examine who gets hurt by piracy it's the worker bees. Talk to the thousands of people who work in the trenches actually creating the content gets pirated, they are not fat cats, they are the grips, the gaffers, the carpenters, the caterers, the list goes on and on.
  
  Piracy does hurt U.S. workers. It is something to be concerned about. The Feds would have been better served to hold their press conference on an indie movie set. Also, remember that many films don't have theatrical releases like Avatar where they can make a lot of money. Many depend on DVD and VOD sales for income. Pension funds for the "workers" also receive money from post-release income.
  
  Yes, it's easy to yell corporate pigs, but really, the folks who run the studios are not the ones who are suffering. Just think about it before you jump to conclusions. I know that many of my friends who work in the film industry and have to pay rent and put food on the table for their kids are happy about this federal action. We hope there's more to come.... Actually, most people who work on a film have been payed by the time it's released. Typically, Producers and their companies are the only parties who receive any money from sales and syndication.
  Pensions would not be affected, as they are fixed. They do not rise and fall after film releases, depending on sales. The only thing that fluctuates in profits. The only thing that fluctuates in profits... and the likely-hood of being able to pay back your investors.

  1.7.2010 23:29 #18

• IguanaC64

  What the hell?
  
  #1 - How is this in their jurisdiction?
  #2 - Shouldn't they have higher priorities to work on that are more in line with their jurisdiction?
  
  Wow...just...wow...

  1.7.2010 23:49 #19

• hikaricor

  And by next week 20 sites will pop back up in their stead.

  2.7.2010 00:02 #20

• moonperyie (unverified)

  Originally posted by DannyBloodyKnuckles: Originally posted by Wrennstigator: edited by ddp communist pigs, I should be allowed to watch a edited by ddp movie, how about they just stick to more important issues, if i dont edited by ddp pay for a movie, take down a site that has the movie still wont make me pay for the movie. my precious. that is all. Communists pigs ey? No I'm pretty certain the words capitalist sluts would be more appropriate. If they were communists they would encourage things such as file sharing. Comrade. Actually, we're kinda socialists if we believe in sharing some the wealth *cough* I mean movies. :) Embrace it, you're a part of this too. We are revolutionaries!!! Down with expensive movies!!! Down with big business!!! We want to go back to paying $7 for sucky movies again!!!

  2.7.2010 00:30 #21

• Ninja_forever (unverified)

  Damn it ICE, Ninja video was the awesome. It help us troops stationed overseas keep up with movies and tv shows back home. We cant get American TV unless we watch AFN now, and lets face it anyone who knows what AFN is knows it is sad... very sad.

  2.7.2010 00:45 #22

• Ninjav30

  So ICE thought immigrants were somehow involved in piracy? As far as I know, it's the american way. Ninjavideo was awesome, though. Whenever I was down I'd go watch some George Carlin and feel better, now I can't. This is some BULLSHIT. Are you gonna censor that too? Effing communists.

  2.7.2010 00:59 #23

• ronnyweed (unverified)

  honestly america, invade countries all you want for billions of dollars, but as soon as people watch tv shows commercial free you act?
  get over yourselves world police, your shows get better exposure on the web

  2.7.2010 01:53 #24

• Howie696

  I understand the back-and forward debates about piracy equalling or not equalling freedom, and even the debate about taking the food out of the mouths of the poor starving movie executives. Not to mention the poor poor actors having to struggle by on a million or so less than last year. What really disturbs me is that what we're seeing here is the thin end of the wedge.
  Now that the authorities are actively shutting down websites the whole foundation of the web is under threat. Where will they strike next (under the banner of 'copyright infringement') or some other legal infraction? before we know what's going on the web will be just another mouthpiece for the ruling elite. We'll be fed more misinformation and lies and we'll stomach it like the good little automata we're to be.
  Orwell was SO RIGHT, but damn I wish to hell he wasn't. The final nail in the coffin of freedom of speech/information/anything really.

  2.7.2010 08:53 #25

• amacgregor (unverified)

  Quote:Haha look at the boarder in Arizona... give it 3-5 more years and we will be giving back land to Mexico. ICE and the federal govt is suppose to be down there protecting our land that we bought off them centuries ago. Instead they are protecting rich people from not being able to milk more money out of us. Educate yourself first the US didn't bought those territories it took them during the Mexico-American War on 1847. The solution for the border is not more police, fences and another police state but to regulate and stop the flow on illegal guns and money to Mexico.
  
  You want to fix the immigration problems in the US help mexico, that simple.

  2.7.2010 09:17 #26

• wyldesyde

  Originally posted by amacgregor: Quote:Haha look at the boarder in Arizona... give it 3-5 more years and we will be giving back land to Mexico. ICE and the federal govt is suppose to be down there protecting our land that we bought off them centuries ago. Instead they are protecting rich people from not being able to milk more money out of us. Educate yourself first the US didn't bought those territories it took them during the Mexico-American War on 1847. The solution for the border is not more police, fences and another police state but to regulate and stop the flow on illegal guns and money to Mexico.
  
  You want to fix the immigration problems in the US help mexico, that simple. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.........some of the funniest stuff Ive heard since Obama was going to fix our country
  

  2.7.2010 10:47 #27

• Interestx

  Show me the artist who does not want their artistic work distributed/seen as widely as possible and I'll show you someone who really isn't an artist.
  
  There's a world of difference bewteen a true artist and just another boring small-minded wannabe rich & famous person.
  
  Sharing - no matter how many times they try and brainwash people into believing otherwise - is not 'piracy'.
  They've been trying to push that crap since the 'home taping is killing music' BS in the 1970's.
  Clearly it isn't.
  What has hurt music so badly is a tidal wave of computer generated pap.
  
  Similarly movies have never been as profitable.
  
  The real pirates (those who sell fake, often shoddy and/or dangerous goods) are the problem but they are about as far away from sharers as can be.
  
  .....and nothing the MPAA or RIAA or their Euro counterparts does a damned thing about any of that.

  2.7.2010 11:22 #28

• pcrazy99

  I just used to use them to catch up on tv episodes. Now I have to find a new site.
  

  3.7.2010 00:43 #29

• ntense69

  9 down 9000 trillion to go

  3.7.2010 00:48 #30

• IamSandman

  “Our nation and our economy is what it is today, because of the ingenuity and ideas of our people – ideas that have been safeguarded through strong intellectual property rights protections."
  
  You are right, more will pop up, more will thrive.
  The real problem is most people don't know what a cache is and think that if they search using the term "without downloading" in their query in a search engine, and they find the movie "streaming" through a flash video player on a website and they watch it - they are not downloading it. They know that downloading movies is illegal but they think that it is possible (barely) to watch without downloading. LOLOLOLOL
  Millions of people look for free movies using the term "without downloading" because they think they are not breaking the law, and in fact they are doing exactly the same thing as the guy downloading the movie directly through peer-to-peer networks or bit-torrent clients. COPYING IS COPYING IS COPYING. If you are going to prosecute a guy who downloaded the move directly through a file sharing network, you need to prosecute the millions of people who watch the movies because they are downloading the movie whether they know it or not - COMMITTING THE SAME ACT.
  
  link

  3.7.2010 03:29 #31

• Mrguss

  The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should it be Sue 'cos they are out of theirs Jurisdiction Jobs.
  
  Same goes to all those City and Town Cops in Arizona that are enforcing Immigration laws.....they are also doing jobs out of their Jurisdiction and they should it be Sue too !!!
  
  Is just so WOW to see this kind of Enforcement Agencies Working for Corporations Agenda unlawfully to milk more $ and blood from us !
  
  All the American Agencies should it been doing their Jobs....before picking on somebody else nose !!!!!
  

  +4000

  3.7.2010 03:38 #32

• crunk15

  Originally posted by IamSandman: “Our nation and our economy is what it is today, because of the ingenuity and ideas of our people – ideas that have been safeguarded through strong intellectual property rights protections."
  
  You are right, more will pop up, more will thrive.
  The real problem is most people don't know what a cache is and think that if they search using the term "without downloading" in their query in a search engine, and they find the movie "streaming" through a flash video player on a website and they watch it - they are not downloading it. They know that downloading movies is illegal but they think that it is possible (barely) to watch without downloading. LOLOLOLOL
  Millions of people look for free movies using the term "without downloading" because they think they are not breaking the law, and in fact they are doing exactly the same thing as the guy downloading the movie directly through peer-to-peer networks or bit-torrent clients. COPYING IS COPYING IS COPYING. If you are going to prosecute a guy who downloaded the move directly through a file sharing network, you need to prosecute the millions of people who watch the movies because they are downloading the movie whether they know it or not - COMMITTING THE SAME ACT.
  
  link people dont care! people choose to stream because its more convenient and doesnt take up space on there hard drives not because they think its legal. the gov doesnt go after people streaming due to the sheer volume of it. if a kick ass movie comes out ill go pay the ridiculous amount at the movies to see it or just wait for netflix but im not waiting months to catch up on a show that just aired yesterday when i can do it for free
  

  3.7.2010 10:30 #33

• Interestx

  Quote:“Our nation and our economy is what it is today, because of the ingenuity and ideas of our people Which is just a statement of the obvious, true and perfectly ok.
  
  Quote:ideas that have been safeguarded through strong intellectual property rights protections." This is where it gets stupid.
  There is 'protection' and then there is the current mania to monetise all copyright-able items.
  
  People do not create in a bubble, almost all creative art, engineering, invention, innovation and design is done in an existing environment that inspires or provides the basis for further advance.
  In other-words something truly 'unique' often isn't.
  
  Most of our art and work stands on the backs of all the others that went before.
  
  What we are seeing with the current American interpretation of copyright law (something it was never intended to do) is to 'ring-fence' all existing copyright-able articles so as to monetise them in perpetuity.
  
  A truly idiotic and frankly insane idea, guaranteed to stifle and hold back artists and creators who will constantly be accused of some ridiculous infringement or of being required to pay royalty.
  
  File sharing is just one face of this stunningly idiotic greedy blinkered nonsense.

  3.7.2010 11:52 #34

• ZippyDSM

  nothing like the fed going after sharing.....
  

  Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy!
  Ah modern gaming its like modern film only the watering down of fiction and characters is replaced with shallow and watered down mechanics, gimmicks and shiny-er "people".
  http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/

  3.7.2010 19:23 #35

• DoomLight

  never heard of any of those sites.
  

  4.7.2010 00:57 #36

• DoomLight

  double post
  

  4.7.2010 00:57 #37

• xboxdvl2

  Quote:never heard of any of those sites.
  it doesn't matter about the sites.the fact is they are going after these types of sites and before you know it they could target a site that me or you or the average joe uses.In a way there taking away our internet freedom.it should be up to us if we want to watch or download something.There a lot of bad words i could use to describe what i think of ICE and the fact they are taking down sites but from what ive seen most of them words have already been used.
  

  PS2 with 12 games.
  pc-windows 7,intel core quad Q8400,4 Gb ddr2,WD 500 GB hdd,ATI Radeon HD 4550 graphics,AOC 22inch LCD moniter.

  4.7.2010 01:44 #38

• juventini

  What happen to the war on drugs? Doesn't Arizona need help with their borders? ICE has time to help Hollywood? WTF?
  

  Forza Juve!!

  6.7.2010 17:12 #39

• juventini

  Originally posted by ntense69: 9 down 9000 trillion to go LOL!
  

  Forza Juve!!

  6.7.2010 17:16 #40

• TJ (unverified)

  Originally posted by pied: Actually, if you really examine who gets hurt by piracy it's the worker bees. Talk to the thousands of people who work in the trenches actually creating the content gets pirated, they are not fat cats, they are the grips, the gaffers, the carpenters, the caterers, the list goes on and on.
  
  Piracy does hurt U.S. workers. It is something to be concerned about. The Feds would have been better served to hold their press conference on an indie movie set. Also, remember that many films don't have theatrical releases like Avatar where they can make a lot of money. Many depend on DVD and VOD sales for income. Pension funds for the "workers" also receive money from post-release income.
  
  Yes, it's easy to yell corporate pigs, but really, the folks who run the studios are not the ones who are suffering. Just think about it before you jump to conclusions. I know that many of my friends who work in the film industry and have to pay rent and put food on the table for their kids are happy about this federal action. We hope there's more to come.... Do you realize how many billion dollars goes into the movie industry annually? 42 billion dollars. thats even more than the agricultural income. even WITH the piracy existing on the internet and hollywood is the richest of the 3rd world economy. do you think the answer to the solution is to ban the websites and piracy? riot will increase. and more chaos and hate is increased to the government. i would give my best guess that probably 50% of the people that watch pirated movies watch it for the reason of not wanting to go to the movies or not buying the movies because they're ''rip off'' expensive. why would i wanna go squeeze myself and my gf to go watch lets say Twilight in the movie theatre when we can just watch it on my big flat screen with the comfortable sofa? so i do say communist corporate pigs

  6.7.2010 20:18 #41

• Pooptaco (unverified)

  Funny that if you steal actual, physical property from your actual, physical neighbor, the authorities won't do anything unless you have concrete evidence of who it is.
  
  But the minute you anonymously copy and redistribute a series of 700 KB file that deprives no one, plausible deniability, due process, and the right to confront your accuser go right out the window.
  
  Deprives no one? But of course! One can make a great argument that online piracy actually promotes and advertises content (ironically, without spending 20% of your time watching ACTUAL ads), that would otherwise remain sight unseen, so buyer beware. One can even make a fantastic case that online pirates weren't going to buy it ANYways! But I have yet to see the definative argument that online pirates WOULD have bought it anyways. (If they would have, what are they doing at online piracy sites ANYways?)
  
  For that matter, if we're having a bleeding heart for advertisers, then who pines today for the ancient art of on-screen product placement, which is much helped (litterally) exponentially by online piracy?
  
  Let us not forget that linking to pirated content is NOT illegal, and hosting it IS. Until that fact changes, we can make all the carefully worded arguments we WANT about fairness, rights, and equality; but most of these sites, themselves, have not committed the crime.
  
  And let us always remember what happens when the royalest of "we"s (we, the people) are legally wronged or defrauded of our money. Does a government agency spring to our defense with wishy-washy claims of what happened according to reality, and not according to the law?
  
  Which wouldn't be an issue, except that the have-nots are clearly in the majority. And the haves will always fight tooth and nail to keep it that way.
  
  Hollywood would be wise to suppose that, well: perhaps you CAN'T squeeze blood from a stone. But a stone can easily squeeze blood from you.
  
  And after all... isn't that really the point of online piracy?

  8.7.2010 18:27 #42

• Tarsellis

  WTF does illegal immigration, economic slavery, and prevention of fruit fly infestation have to do with a wesbite with a link to "pirated" information?
  
  Another case of amerikan alphabet soup overstepping it's bounds for political purposes at the behest of media mafia owned congress men and agents.

  9.7.2010 09:42 #43

• Winddog

  shouldn't the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) be more focus on deporting illegals from the country?

  11.7.2010 21:09 #44