Brazilian Peruvian authorities continue Operation 404

Photo Credit: Vanessa Bumbeers

Brazilian law enforcement is continuing its ‘Operation 404’ against infringing music services, this time with support from authorities in Peru.

The initiative is supported by IFPI and Pro-Música Brasil, marking one of the largest operations of its kind to reign in unlicensed music streaming services. Operation 404 has resulted in the suspension of 1,500 domains, the removal of 780 infringing music apps, and more than 100 search warrants.

Recent actions involved cooperation between the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, local cybercrime police units, and the Peruvian Copyright Office, INDECOPI. The operation was also supported by Homeland Security Investigations in the US and the Police IP Crime Unit and City of London Police in the UK.

In this six wave of Operation 404, INDECOPI participated the second time to work with Brazilian authorities to block 157 domains related to music piracy. These domains included stream ripping sites. Brazilian authorities took down 12 major stream ripping and MP3 download mobile apps with more than 4.3 million downloads in Brazil alone.

“This included the removal and blocking in Brazil of the VidMate stream ripping app, which had more than 870 million downloads worldwide and over 1.1 million active users in Brazil,” the IFPI press release reads.

“This six wave of actions by Operation 404 on infringing sites makes this one of the biggest and most concerted efforts in the world against music piracy,” adds Melissa Morgia, IFPI’s Director of Global Content Protection and Enforcement. “

Not only does it make an impact on infringing websites, it has evolved to tackle the growing threat posed by mobile app-based piracy. This would not be possible without international cooperation and we thank the authorities in Brazil, Peru, the United States, and the UK for their unstinting support in protecting the work of music creators.”

“With the cooperation of several enforcement agencies from countries like the UK, US, and Peru, the six wave of Operation 404 keeps tracking and fighting illegal online activities, with benefits for many sectors,” adds Paulo Rosa, Director, Pro-Música Brasil.

“The Brazilian recorded music industry thanks the efforts of everyone involved and recognizes the vital importance of initiatives like Operation 404 for the protection of music content in the online environment.”