FMovies is a series of
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
websites that host links and
embedded videos, allowing users to stream or download movies for free.
History
The site was created in 2016 according to ''
TorrentFreak,''
and blocked from
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
searches in December 2016.
In November 2017, FMovies lost a lawsuit brought by Filipino media and entertainment group
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...
, and was ordered to pay $210,000.
In January 2018, the site was identified as a ''
Notorious Market'' by the U.S. government, along with
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay (sometimes abbreviated as TPB) is an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software. Founded in 2003 by Swedish think tank Piratbyrån, The Pirate Bay allows visitors to search, download, and contribute mag ...
and other piracy sites. In October 2018,
Telia Company, a Swedish ISP, was ordered to block FMovies.
They appealed the order. That same month, the
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
reported FMovies along with other piracy sites to the U.S. government. FMovies was blocked in Australia in December 2018, after a request in August.
In February 2019, Sweden asked advertisers to blacklist some piracy and streaming sites, which included FMovies. By April 2019, ISPs in India were ordered to block FMovies, and the U.S. government identified the site as one of the top piracy sites.
As of November 2019, there are two to four different FMovies websites running, but their locations are unknown.
See also
*
Putlocker, similar online movie streaming network
*
YIFY Torrents (or YTS), online movie file downloading network
*
Popcorn Time, a
freeware
Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...
program allowing users to watch movies through torrenting on several platforms
*
123movies, similar online movie streaming network
References
{{reflist
BitTorrent websites
Internet properties established in 2016
Internet censorship in India