IFPI Touts ‘Landmark Ruling’ Against Fake Streams Platform in Brazil — Is This the Start of a Serious Enforcement Campaign?

Amid rumblings of a wider streaming-manipulation crackdown, the IFPI is touting a Brazilian court’s “landmark ruling” against an alleged fake-streams operation.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) just recently applauded that ruling, which marks the latest development in a years-long effort to curb fake streams and stream ripping in Brazil.

In 2024, for instance, “Operation Redirect” shuttered a number of “illegal music sites” in the nation of 211 million, which now boasts the ninth-largest recorded market.

But the initially mentioned ruling was handed down as part of what the IFPI’s dubbed “Operation Authentica.” Billed as “an initiative targeting services providing fake interactions online,” Authentica has thus far taken aim at “38 local sites offering streaming fraud services,” per the trade organization.

And with the São Paulo Public Attorney’s Office, the Association for the Protection of Phonographic Intellectual Rights (APDIF), and IFPI Latin America coordinating and/or supporting the action, the targeted-site count is presumably poised to grow moving forward.

Closer to the present, a São Paulo court issued the aforesaid ruling against Seguidores Marketing Digital Ltda.

As summed up by the IFPI, the entity – allegedly dealing in fake streams as well as followers across a variety of social and music platforms – has been found liable “for misleading advertising, fraud against consumers, and violations of several constitutional rights.”

Accompanying the determination is an order for the defendant company to “cease its unlawful services” or cough up financial penalties and face possible domain suspensions, the IFPI relayed in more words. Meanwhile, Seguidores has already appealed.

“This is a clear warning to those profiting from manipulating the online music environment,” weighed in IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley. “Their actions mislead music fans and undermine legitimate artists.

“Today’s ruling sets a strong legal precedent, and we are grateful to the São Paulo Public Attorney’s Office for this successful operation,” Oakley concluded. “We will continue to work closely with authorities to tackle these fraudulent practices, and to help protect Brazil’s thriving music community.”

Keeping the focus on Seguidores for a moment, it remains to be seen whether the ruling and the ongoing scrutiny will decommission the service altogether. To name one of many considerations, evidence suggests that artificial-listening platforms aren’t shy about rebranding.

An example: The IFPI in 2024 announced the takedown of Pimpyourfollower.de. As we noted then, the Germany-based fake streams (and followers) provider simply shifted to another domain – even going as far as redirecting Pimpyourfollower visitors to the new web address. Nearly one year later, the retooled service is seemingly still operating.

Bearing this point in mind, besides the estimated $2 billion that streaming manipulation costs the global music sector annually, time will tell whether the IFPI actually intends to mount a more serious enforcement campaign.

As things stand, the organization is holding its cards close to the vest here. However, most are well aware that AI “music” is pouring onto DSPs – and machine-generated works’ inherent susceptibility to fraud (or at least playlist- and algorithm-fueled gaming) isn’t exactly a secret.