An anti-piracy coalition led by the likes of Sony, Walt Disney Studios, Amazon and Universal Pictures is claiming a “stunning victory” after Vietnamese police “shut down the largest pirate streaming operation in the world”.

Working with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), Hanoi Police smashed Fmovies and numerous other “notorious piracy sites”.

“The takedown of Fmovies is a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios and the creative community across the globe,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE. 

Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).

“With the leadership of ACE and the partnership of the Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi Municipal Police, we are countering criminal activity, defending the safety of audiences, reducing risks posed to tens of millions of consumers, and protecting the rights and livelihoods of creators.”

ACE says the illegal piracy group launched in 2016, and associated pirate sites included bflixz, flixtorz, movies7, myflixer and aniwave. The sites attracted more than 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024.  

“With nearly 374 million monthly visits, the syndicate was the largest piracy ring in the world,” says ACE. “Vidsrc.to, a notorious video hosting provider operated by the same suspects, was also taken down, impacting hundreds of additional dedicated piracy sites.”

Larissa Knapp is a former high ranking FBI official who joined the Motion Picture Association recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer.

Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)

“We look forward to ongoing joint efforts with Vietnamese authorities, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Justice International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) program to bring the criminal operators to justice,” she said.

At its peak in 2023, Fmoviesz.to was the 280th most popular website across all categories of websites globally, and the 11th most popular website in the TV, Movies & Streaming category, according to data analytics company SimilarWeb. 

Madam Ngo Phuong Lan, the Chairwoman of the Vietnam Film Development Association. Image: MPA.

Madam Ngo Phuong Lan, the Chairwoman of the Vietnam Film Development Association (VDFA), described the Vietnamese film industry as being at a “pivotal stage of development, transitioning from a state-subsidised production model to a rapidly growing phase driven by private sector involvement”.

“To achieve fast and sustainable growth and integrate into the global film industry, it is essential that we follow the right path,” she said. “Intellectual property rights protection is a crucial element for our industry’s success. The VFDA strongly applauds the efforts of ACE, in collaboration with Vietnamese authorities, to combat the serious infringing activities of the Fmovies operators. We believe this milestone will contribute significantly to the advancement of the Vietnamese film industry.”

The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV+, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery.