Justice Department Seizes Nearly 400 World Cup Streaming Domains in Operation Offsides
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 27
Justice Department Seizes Nearly 400 World Cup Streaming Domains in Operation Offsides
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jun 27
Summary
Nearly 400 domains were seized Friday after U.S. investigators found they were illegally carrying live FIFA World Cup matches, in one of the tournament's biggest anti-piracy crackdowns.
Homeland Security Investigations agents confirmed the sites were actively streaming matches without authorization, then obtained seizure warrants in federal court in Virginia under U.S. copyright law.
FIFA, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery helped identify the domains, which the Justice Department said were being used to profit from unauthorized broadcasts.
Operation Offsides also targeted servers and domains in Peru and Bulgaria, with related enforcement actions in Croatia, Romania, Poland and Colombia, underscoring the cross-border scope of the piracy networks.