RIAA and MPA Now Target Domain Name and Hosting Providers

• The RIAA and the MPA are proposing the USTR to include several service providers on its yearly list.
• This includes the privacy-minded domain registration service “Njalla,” which copyright holders want to see gone.
• Telegram is included in the apps list, showcasing how much rightsholders respect privacy rights.

The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the MPA (Motion Pictures Association) have turned their attention to the so-called “piracy-enablers,” and more specifically, the domain name registrants and the hosting provider. In two separate letters of recommendation to the USTR, the two entities are urging the authorities to consider adding several firms onto its yearly “blacklist.”

Chasing pirates directly oftentimes feels pointless, as the operators of pirate sites have multiple ways to keep themselves anonymous and away from reach. However, the companies that support their operation practically and technically cannot be hidden and cannot claim ignorance or unawareness regarding what their clients are doing.

Once again, the domain service that finds itself at the epicenter of RIAA and MPA’s latest complaints is Njalla, the privacy-respecting service owned by Peter Sunde, the Pirate Bay founder. The RIAA sees a connection between Njalla and 1337x.to, the popular torrent indexing site. Apparently, the company that supports Njalla is “1337 LLC,” based in the Caribbean, and the name similarity is suspicious enough to make a correlation.

Sunde responded to that by claiming the allegations entirely unfounded and that the action against Njalla is completely disrespectful to people’s right for anonymity online, which is what he stands for. Sunde believes that the RIAA and MPA are simply angry because they cannot control the internet, especially the parts that Njalla supports. On the other hand, the copyright protection organizations are using GDPR requirements to keep Whois data as their spearhead.

The full list of all sites and service providers that are targeted is given below:

• Domain companies: Njal.la, .TO Registry, .RU Registry, .IS Registry, .TV Registry
• Hosting services: Ecatel/Quasi Networks, FlokiNET, Cloudflare (and other CDNs), Amaratu/KoDDos, BlueAngel Host, Ddos-Guard.net, HydraX.net.
• Payment provider: VoguePay
• Advertising companies: 1XBET, GetB8.com, PopAds, PopCash, RevenueHits
• Apps: Telegram, Everstream, Mobdro, PopcornTime, TVTap, Unblock Tech.
• IPTV: BIPTV.best and BestBuyIPTV.store, Buy-IPTV.com, GenIPTV, GenIPTV, King365tv.com, King-IPTV.net.
• Pirate sites (&cloud/social hosting): ytmp3.cc, mp3juices.cc, flvto.biz and 2conv.com, y2mate.com, savefrom.net, mp3-youtube.download, newalbumreleases.net, rnbxclusive.vip, leakth.is, intmusic.net, pluspremieres.to, ak47full.com, kingdom-leaks.com, 720pizle.org & Dizilla.com, Bs.to, Cda.pl, Cinecalidad.to, Dytt8.net, Dy2018.com, Dygod.net and Ygdy8.com, Egy.best, Fmovies.to, Gimyvod.com, “Indo 21”, MrPiracy.top, thepiratebay.org, 1337x.to, rarbg.to, torrentz2.eu, Rutracker.org, Tamilrockers.ws, Yts.mx, Pelisplus.me, Phimmoi, Rezka.ag, Superflix.net, Topflix.tv, Zt-za.com, Baidu Pan, Baidu Pan, Collaps.org, Gounlimited.to, Mixdrop.co, Uploaded.net, Uptobox.com, Vivo.sx, VK.com, zippyshare.com, rapidgator.net, turbobit.net, chomikuj.pl, dbree.org, filecrypt.cc, wi.to, ddownload.com, anonfiles.com, mp3fiesta.com.

These entries will now be reviewed by the US Government and could find their way into the 2020 “naughty list,” which is to be published by the Americans in the following months. This list is meant to apply pressure to all governments in the world to block access to the listed websites and ramp up their efforts to bring their operators in front of justice.