Hanoi police, in conjunction with the U.S.-based Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global entertainment coalition, have dismantled Fmovies, the largest pirate streaming operator in the world, based in the Vietnamese capital city.

ACE, which includes major players like Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon, and Walt Disney Studios, on Thursday announced that it had joined hands with Hanoi police to shut down Fmovies and its network of associated websites. 

Launched in 2016 as a platform for sharing movies and TV show contents, the Fmovies network, including sites such as Bfixz, Flixtorz, Movies7 and Myflixer, constituted ‘the largest pirate streaming operation in the world,’ which attracted more than 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024.

The joint bust also shuttered the video hosting provider Vidsrc.to, along with its affiliated sites, which was described by the ACE as “a notorious video hosting provider operated by the same suspects.”

Hanoi police recently detained two Vietnamese men in connection to Fmovies, who have yet to be charged, according to the Hollywood Reporter, an American digital and print magazine focusing on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries.

Fmovies has been listed in the “notorious markets” list for counterfeiting and piracy by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative since 2017.

At its peak last year, Fmoviesz.to was the 280th most popular website across all categories of websites globally, and the 11th most popular website in the TV, Movies and Streaming category, data analytics company SimilarWeb reported. 

The shutdown of Fmovies is “a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe,” Charles Rivkin, chairman of ACE and chairman and CEO of the U.S.-based Motion Picture Association (MPA), commented in a statement on the ACE’s official website.

Talking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, chairwoman of the Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA), highly praised the bust of Fmovies, saying this is of great significance amid Vietnam’s great efforts to boost the development of its film industry.

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