- 123movies is a popular pirate website that shut down along with its subsidiary websites 123movieshub and GoMovies.
- Details on why the websites were shut down were unknown till date.
- The MPAA revealed that the website shut down due to an ongoing criminal investigation against the streaming websites.
123movies was one of the most popular sources of pirated movies on the internet, and the website suddenly shut down without revealing any details. The website’s subsidiaries 123movieshub and GoMovies were also shut down in a similar fashion, but the MPAA finally revealed more details about the mysterious shutdown.
The MPAA had labeled 123movies the most popular illegal website in the world and rightly so. The website commanded millions of users every day which attracted the attention of US authorities and also the media industry. In 2017, the US Ambassador contacted the Vietnamese government to prosecute the website locally. The website was also a target of the US Trade representative which listed 123movies in the Notorious Markets report. There has been no official word on any arrests made or charges handed out legally.
After no legal action was processed by the Vietnamese government, the MPAA sent representatives to expedite the issue directly. Movie industry members and local police teamed up hoping to shut down the website. Shortly after 123movies released a statement on their website which said “Now it’s time to say goodbye. Thank you for being our friends and thanks for staying with us that long,” the 123movies team wrote, asking users to “respect” filmmakers by paying for movies and TV-shows instead of pirating them.”
Despite 123movies not releasing an official statement, the internet community figured out the website shut down due to legal pressure. The MPAA has finally provided insight into the matter officially. The organization revealed, “An important development in 2018 was the shuttering of a ring of piracy services that had operated under the names 123movies, 123movieshub, gostream, and gomovies following the launch of a criminal investigation in Vietnam and significant industry engagement.”
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