Federal Government intensifies fight against piracy and reports blocking of 393 illegal websites to the UN

Brazil’s Federal Government — through its National Council for Combating Piracy and Crimes against Intellectual Property [Conselho Nacional de Combate à Pirataria e Delitos contra a Propriedade Intelectual/CNCP] — has sent a list of 393 pirate sites that have been blocked by Brazilian authorities to the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The list will be included in Wipo Alert, a mechanism for monitoring and informing about this type of content internationally. In this way, Brazil has led to the largest inclusion of illegal websites in Wipo Alert in the last seven years.

The action by the CNCP — which is linked to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security’s [Secretaria Nacional do Consumidor/MJSP] National Consumer Secretariat [Secretaria Nacional do Consumidor/Senacon] — is part of the Brazilian government's efforts to combat digital piracy and protect its citizens from cybercrimes. According to National Consumer Secretary Wadih Damous, combating piracy is not just about copyright but also protecting consumers and society. “Many of these sites are used to spread viruses and steal personal data, causing incalculable harm to citizens. Our commitment is to ensuring a safer and fairer digital environment," he said.

Illegal platforms have already been targeted by other Brazilian public security agencies — such as Operation Redirect [Operação Redirect] by the Cyber ​​Operations Laboratory [Laboratório de Operações Cibernéticas/Ciberlab], and Operation 404 [Operação 404]. In its last phase, the latter blocked 675 sites and 14 streaming apps. In addition to promoting the illegal distribution of music and other content, pirate sites expose more than 90 million consumers to fraud, data theft and cyberattacks. The massive presence of illegal gambling advertisements has also been identified on these sites — which target mainly children and young people.

As explained by CNCP Executive Secretary Andrey Lucas Macedo Corrêa, these sites use illegal content to generate profit through advertisements — and around 70% of them advertise illegal gambling. "What is most worrying is that a large part of the audience on these platforms is made up of minors, making the former a gateway to even more serious social problems," he said.

CONFIDENTIALITY — The list of websites that were blocked and reported to Wipo Alert is confidential. This rule helps prevent new criminal infrastructures from being created from the disclosed information, as well as ensuring the effectiveness of investigations and inspections.

SUPERVISION — WIPO monitoring allows information to be shared in real time with the 193 member countries, increasing the effectiveness of inspection and the blocking of illicit websites. Wipo Alert also provides information to advertising companies and financial institutions, helping prevent illegal websites from making profits through advertisements or banking transactions.