MOBDRO, the world’s largest pirate streaming app, has been shut down after the Premier League won a legal battle. The app illegally streamed video content, including sports, from around the world on smart televisions, smartphones, tablets and other devices, the Premier League said in a statement It is believed 43 MILLION users were able to […]
MOBDRO, the world’s largest pirate streaming app, has been shut down after the Premier League won a legal battle.
The app illegally streamed video content, including sports, from around the world on smart televisions, smartphones, tablets and other devices, the Premier League said in a statement
It is believed 43 MILLION users were able to watch top-flight matches illegally through the service.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment [ACE], a coalition of around 30 global entertainment companies and film studios aimed at tackling online piracy, led the investigation along with the Premier League.
This resulted in law enforcement action by Spanish police and Europol.
Premier League Director of Legal Services Kevin Plumb said in the league statement: “Mobdro’s criminal enterprise amounted to long-running and large-scale theft.
“These raids show we and ACE are committed to taking action against piracy.
“The protection of our copyright is hugely important to the Premier League and our broadcast partners, as well as the future health of English football.”
The investigation began in 2018 when Spanish Police received complaints from several organisations, including the Premier League and Spanish soccer’s top-flight La Liga, about a mobile application illegally distributing video streams.
A number of connected websites and platforms in Spain and Portugal with connections to servers in the Czech Republic were identified, with the company responsible estimated to have made almost £5million in illegal profits.
Europol said in a statement: “Europol supported the Spanish National Police to dismantle a criminal group distributing illegal video streams.
“The investigation also involved law enforcement authorities from Andorra and Portugal.
The Premier League has long grappled with the issue of piracy of its content.
In December, the league launched the second phase of its anti-piracy campaign in Malaysia and Hong Kong to highlight the dangers that illegal football streams pose, including data theft, malicious malware and poor viewing experience.
