3 Count: YYeTs Yeeted

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1: China ‘Busts Film and TV Piracy Ring’ in Renren Yingshi Subtitle Site Raid

First off today, Phoebe Zhang at the South China Morning Post reports that police in Shanghai have raided facility connected with the subtitling site YYeTs.com and has detained some 14 people suspected of being involved in its operation.

The site has become known as a piracy haven and is suspected in the pirating of more than 20,000 Chinese and foreign TV shows and films. Though there are hundreds of such subtitle sites in the country, YYeTs is known to be the largest that was operating.

Caption sites are particularly popular in China where government control of media means that legitimate versions of foreign content (in particular versions with subtitles) is often hard to find. That said, these sites have also received international notoriety as places for people to find pirated content all over the world.

2: Chinese Arrest of Video Pirates Triggers Outcry From “Friends” Fans

Next up today, Reuters reports that fans of the television show Friends, as well as other foreign works, are decrying the raid on YYeTs saying that the raid denies them access to their favorite programs.

As one user on Weibo said, “If the aim is to combat piracy, then please give us the platform to watch legally introduced versions.” However, as noted above, China closely restricts foreign film and television in the country meaning that there are no officially available versions of much of what was on YYeTs.

According to police, the site had made some 16 million yuan ($2.5 million) over an unspecified amount of time. Most of the revenue was earned through advertising that appeared on the site.

3: IOC is Extremely Concerned About the Impact of Piracy on the Olympics

Finally today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has written the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) expressing concerns about how piracy impacts the Olympic Games.

The USTR is currently accepting comments ahead of its annual Special 301 Priority Watch List report, which highlights countries and institutions that, in their minds, are not doing enough to protect intellectual property.

The IOC specifically highlighted piracy issues in Saudi Arabia, where at least one pirate network enjoys the support of the government. The IOC also called attention to the global issue of pirate streaming and how such streams can impact the games.

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