ACE: Court Orders Shutdown of Illegal Streamer

A global coalition for the protection of online content has gotten a crystal clear ruling from a U.S. district court against an unauthorized streamer.

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), whose members include the major legal content producers and streamers, from Amazon, AMC Networks and Apple TV to Viacom, Walt Disney Productions, and Warner Bros., said it has secured a permanent injunction against Crystal Clear Media (CCM).

ACE is chaired by Charles Rivkin, who heads the Motion Picture Association (MPA).

According to a copy of the injunctions, the operators of CCM agreed to comply with the injunction as well as to a $40 million judgment for damages. Each party will pay their own attorneys fees.

“Crystal Clear Media’s massive, leveraged piracy operation posed a direct threat to the legitimate streaming market that people are depending on today more than ever,” said Karyn Temple, MPA senior executive VP and global general counsel. “Illegal online piracy hurts ACE members and strains an already challenged delivery system. It threatens jobs, destabilizes the economics that promote creativity and keep streaming affordable, and puts consumers at increased risk of malware, which is often used for identity and financial theft and other nefarious schemes.”

The suit was filed in August 2020.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.