The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has secured the suspension of moviebox.ng, a suspected piracy online site.

NCC, in a statement by its Director General, Dr. John Asein, said the breakthrough was possible with the help of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA). 

Asein also warned the general public against falling prey to sites that promise free streaming and downloads as they do not only infringe on copyrights but also target unsuspecting users exposed to malware, financial scams, identity thefts and other fraudulent activities.

The statement reads: “Following its renewed campaign against online piracy, the Nigerian Copyright Commission, with the assistance of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the Nigerian Registry for the country top level domain, has secured the suspension of MovieBox.ng, an online site known for streaming pirated copyright materials including movies, music and live sports from Nigeria and other countries.

“In a preliminary report issued by the Commission, it described the illicit operations as suggesting a coordinated attempt to sustain piracy operations through clone or fallback domains. 

“It also showed a coordinated effort by the website to evade detection and takedown by using multiple mirror domains to promote and gain access to copyright protected contents and a domain history that aligns with known piracy operations.

“The Commission thanked NiRA for being responsive and called on other role players in the online space, especially Internet Service Providers and intermediaries to always act responsibly and expeditiously to take down notices and blocking directives as required under the Copyright Act, 2022. 

“In the meantime, the Commission is also taking steps to make sure that other mirror sites for the platforms are deactivated.

“It again advised the public to be wary of pirate sites that promise free streaming and downloads as they do not only infringe on the copyright but also target unsuspecting users who are exposed to malware, financial scams, identity thefts and other fraudulent activities.”

The suspension with effect from July 20 has been commended by right owner associations in the movie, music and broadcast industries as a welcome development. 

The Copyright in the year launched the Stand Together against Online Piracy (STOP) campaign calling on all stakeholders – government agencies, ISPs, telecom operators, and industry leaders to stand together as frontline enforcement partners to protect creative content and guarantee the country’s digital future.