Netflix Flags Their Own Website for Piracy and Sends Takedown Notice to Google
Last updated July 8, 2021
Netflix and a group of high-profile Hollywood film studios co-signed an official complaint against the “Movies Time” app and submitted it over to GitHub, which was hosting the app and its repositories. The platform is accused of facilitating copyright infringement, promoting pirated material, and depriving the legit streaming services of revenues. “Movies Time” is one of the most recent mushrooms that popped up in the scene, but its rapid growth in popularity quickly gained the attention of rights holders.
As the complaint that was submitted over to GitHub by the MPA (Motion Pictures Association) reads:
“We are writing to notify you of, and request your assistance in addressing, the extensive copyright infringement of motion pictures and television shows that is occurring by virtue of the operation of the infringing service titled ‘Movies Time.’ Movies Time is a software application – specifically an APK – that is preconfigured to provide unauthorized access to copyrighted motion pictures and television shows; a user need only download the APK, and on launch it will allow the user to search for, select and stream large numbers of copyrighted motion pictures and television shows, without any further configuration by the user, and all without authorization.”
Surely, GitHub removed the APK and the associated repositories, as the Microsoft-owned company doesn’t like to play around when the proof of copyright infringement is undeniable. That is especially the case when the software hosting platform is accused of supporting illegal services and failing to take preventive action against them. While the request of the MPA was almost immediately approved, this doesn’t mean that “Movies Time” has been wiped from the face of the Earth now. On the contrary, the app’s operators are already discussing on their dedicated Telegram channel (which remains active) about where to move their stuff now.
There are over 25,600 members in the particular Telegram channel, mostly users who are trying to find out what has happened to their favorite pirate app. It is also noteworthy that scammers have snatched the opportunity and are launching websites mimicking the “Movies Time” platform. These domains are distributing malware through infected APKs, make money through malvertising, and also engage in phishing operations. The best thing that you should do now is to abandon ship and look among the freely available legal streaming options. If you don’t know where to look, here’s a list compiled by our experts.