Authorities in five Latin American countries are moving to block 317 sites linked to stream ripping and malware distribution.
The targeted sites drew an average of 15 million visits per month over the past year and reached more than 5.4 million unique visitors in the same period, according to IFPI.
The campaign, named Operation LUMEN, takes place on Wednesday (September 23) and was devised and is being led by Peru’s intellectual property authority, INDECOPI.
IFPI, the organization that represents the recording industry worldwide, says the operation brings together authorities from Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador.
Internet service providers in the participating countries will block access to the identified domains, IFPI says.
IFPI says 44 of the 317 sites targeted were tied to malware distribution or other malicious activity, affecting more than 4.7 million users.
National agencies taking part include Paraguay’s DINAPI, Brazil’s CyberGaeco and ANCINE, the Dominican Republic’s ONDA, and Ecuador’s SENADI.
“Operation LUMEN shows what can be achieved when authorities work together across borders to tackle threats like piracy,” said Victoria Oakley, CEO of IFPI.
“IFPI’s study confirmed that website blocking can be an effective and proportionate tool in disrupting access to illegal services, including by helping to drive users towards licensed services and paid subscription pages, and this coordinated action will help disrupt hundreds of infringing and harmful sites.
“We commend the leadership and cooperation of the authorities participating – this initiative will help protect artists and fans while supporting a healthier digital marketplace for music.”
“Operation LUMEN shows what can be achieved when authorities work together across borders to tackle threats like piracy.”
Victoria Oakley, IFPI
The study Oakley refers to was carried out by IFPI last year, and examined what happens to consumer behavior after infringing sites are blocked.
IFPI says it found that consistent blocking produced a 15% to 50% increase in visits to licensed music services such as Spotify and Amazon Music.
The same study recorded a 3% to 8% rise in visits to pages for new paid accounts and subscription upgrades, according to IFPI.
IFPI says Operation LUMEN follows years of work with enforcement agencies across the region, and points to what it describes as growing recognition among those authorities of the effect of blocking on access to infringing content.
Stream ripping works by pasting a link from a licensed service such as YouTube or Spotify into an external tool, which pulls down a permanent audio file from the stream.
Operation LUMEN lands after a run of blocking actions secured by the recorded music business in other markets.
IFPI and Pro-Música Brasil also backed Operation Redirect in Brazil in 2024, a campaign whose first phase deactivated eight sites that shared unauthorized music while exposing users to malware.
