The Motion Picture Association (MPA) recently submitted its latest piracy report to the European Commission, outlining various piracy threats and calling for greater accountability from third-party intermediaries.

While the report names familiar piracy sites, the MPA emphasizes the need for companies that support these services—such as hosting providers, content delivery networks (CDNs), and advertisers—to take a more active role in stopping illegal activities.

The MPA’s stance is that these intermediaries should be held responsible for preventing piracy, even if they aren’t directly involved.

Similar to the U.S. government piracy report, the European Commission compiles a bi-annual “Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List,” which identifies piracy threats based on input from stakeholders like the MPA.

In its submission, the MPA highlights dozens of piracy-related platforms, ranging from torrent sites like The Pirate Bay to illegal streaming portals such as Solarmovie.

It also mentions piracy apps and IPTV services, which have become increasingly popular in recent years. Though these platforms are a clear focus of the report, the MPA does not provide an exhaustive list, but rather aims to show the scale and nature of the problem.

Holding Intermediaries Accountable

A key point of the MPA’s submission is the role of third-party intermediaries. These companies—ranging from hosting providers to domain name registrars—often unknowingly provide services to piracy sites.

However, the MPA argues that these intermediaries should be more proactive in preventing illegal activities. According to the report, many intermediaries are slow to take action when it comes to copyright infringement, often failing to verify customer identities or terminate accounts associated with piracy.

The MPA’s submission outlines several “key enforcement points,” all of which focus on increasing accountability for these intermediaries.

 

The organization believes that, by requiring intermediaries to adopt stronger practices, such as verifying customer information and cutting off services to known piracy platforms, piracy rates could be significantly reduced.

Legislative Support from the European Union

The MPA is not asking the European Commission to solve piracy overnight. Instead, it is advocating for legislative changes that would help make enforcement more effective.

One solution the MPA suggests is making “Know Your Business Customer” (KYBC) requirements mandatory. This would force intermediaries to gather and verify the identities of customers who use their services, making it easier to track down piracy operators and hold them accountable.

The MPA emphasizes that KYBC requirements, if fully implemented, could be a game-changer for anti-piracy efforts. Although some of these requirements already exist in the European Union’s Digital Services Act, the MPA argues that they don’t go far enough, as they don’t apply to intermediaries and hosting platforms.

Expanding these rules would ensure that intermediaries take the necessary steps to prevent their services from being used for illegal activities.

By requiring intermediaries to take greater responsibility, the European Commission could provide a significant boost to global anti-piracy efforts.

List of MPA’s Biggest Piracy Threats

Listed below are some of the notable piracy threats mentioned in the MPA’s report. You can find the complete list of names in the PDF linked below.

Streaming Websites

• Fmovies
• Vegamovies
• KatMovieHD
• Rezka
• Seasonvar
• Dizigom
• Solarmovie
• Cuevana
• Hianime (formerly Aniwatch)
• Braflix
• Sockshare1

IPTV Websites

• MagisTV.net
• TVExpress.pro
• King-IPTV.net
• GenIPTV
• Gogo IPTV
• Globe IPTV
• Crystal OTT
• WHMCS Smarters

Video Hosting Services

• Doodstream
• Baidu Wangpan
• VK
• Uploaded.net
• Mixdrop
• Streamtape

Piracy Apps

• EVPAD
• MagisTV.video
• Telegram

BitTorrent portals

• 1337x
• ThePirateBay
• Rutracker
• Rutor
• YggTorrent

Registries

• .CH Registry
• .CC Registry
• .IO Registry
• .ME Registry
• .RU Registry
• .TO Registry

Piracy as a Service

• 2embed
• Vidsrc
• Njal
• Collaps.org
• GDrivePlayer
• XFileSharing

Wrapping Up

The MPA’s call for increased intermediary responsibility reflects a growing consensus that combating piracy requires more than just targeting illegal sites.

Whether the European Commission will adopt these recommendations remains to be seen, but the conversation around stricter enforcement measures is likely to continue.