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Brazil’s seventh phase of Operation 404, announced on September 19, 2024, resulted in authorities reporting that 675 websites and 14 illegal streaming applications were blocked or suspended. The international action also included 30 search-and-seizure warrants, nine arrests, content removals, search-engine de-indexing and removals of social-media pages. “Taken down” is shorthand: the announcement does not establish that every service was permanently dismantled.
What happened in Phase 7?
Operation 404 is Brazil’s continuing campaign against online copyright infringement, not a one-day sweep. In its Phase 7 bulletin, Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security reported these measures on September 19, 2024:
- 675 websites and 14 illegal streaming applications blocked or suspended.
- 30 search-and-seizure warrants executed.
- Nine arrests: six in Brazil and three in Argentina.
- Audio and video material—including games and music—removed, some content de-indexed from search engines, and profiles or pages removed from social networks.
The figures describe different kinds of enforcement action, not 689 businesses proven to belong to one network. The bulletin does not specify that every app was removed from a particular app store, that every server was seized, or that each target was inaccessible worldwide. Arrests and searches are investigative steps, not findings of guilt.
What “taken down” means—and what it does not
News reports often use “taken down” broadly. In practice, authorities or service providers can disrupt access in different ways: an internet provider may block a domain; a registrar or host may suspend it; a platform may remove an app or account; a search engine may stop indexing links; or investigators may seize equipment or evidence under court authority. These measures are not interchangeable.
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A block can make a site unavailable to users in a particular place without closing the people or infrastructure behind it. A service may move to another domain, use mirrors, or reappear through another app. The government’s wording—“blocked or suspended”—is therefore more precise than saying all 675 sites and 14 apps were permanently destroyed.
Why the operation crossed borders
Unauthorized streaming and distribution networks can involve operators, servers, payment routes, devices and audiences in several countries. Phase 7 reporting describes cooperation involving Brazil and partners in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and the United Kingdom, as well as U.S. support or observer involvement in some accounts. The exact role varied: police and government bodies carried out law-enforcement work, while rights holders and industry groups contributed information or represented affected sectors. It would be inaccurate to suggest every named partner conducted arrests or searches.
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Reported participants and supporting organizations included Brazil’s Ministry of Justice, its Ciberlab cyber operations laboratory and state civil police; the City of London Police intellectual-property crime unit; the UK Intellectual Property Office; Peru’s INDECOPI; and organizations representing sports, audiovisual and music rights, including the Premier League, LaLiga, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, the Motion Picture Association and APDIF. IP Key’s account and specialist reporting provide additional context on the cooperation.
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Magis TV became a prominent example in coverage of anti-piracy enforcement in the region, but it should not be treated as a synonym for all Phase 7 targets. LaLiga reported that an Argentine court ordered Google to disable Magis TV on Android, including preventing installation and disabling it on devices where it was already installed. The case was connected to an investigation into a network allegedly selling TV boxes with pirate applications preloaded. LaLiga’s account is a rights-holder statement; its estimate of 55 million visits in six months should be understood as its own traffic claim, not an independently audited audience figure.
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That Argentine court action is related context, while Brazil’s official Phase 7 totals cover a broader set of websites, applications, content and social accounts. Some coverage has reported different arrest totals for narrower related actions; the Brazilian ministry’s Phase 7 figure is nine, split between six arrests in Brazil and three in Argentina.
What kinds of piracy did Operation 404 target?
The operation was not limited to movie and television sites. The government announcement specifically refers to audio and video, games and music. Across its broader history, Operation 404 has addressed unauthorized audiovisual streaming, live television and sports, music and stream-ripping, game piracy, download or linking sites, apps, and social accounts promoting infringing material. The International Intellectual Property Alliance’s 2025 report describes that wider campaign history.
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Why illegal streaming can put users at risk
Copyright enforcement is not the only concern raised about unauthorized streaming services. Authorities and anti-piracy groups have warned about malicious advertising, phishing, fraud, data theft and unsafe downloads or apps. That does not mean every pirate site or app contains malware, but an unregulated service may not provide the security, privacy, payment or content-integrity protections users can expect from a licensed provider. Preloaded or “fully loaded” TV boxes and unofficial Android packages also make it harder to know what software is installed or where it came from.
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If you installed an unauthorized app, remove it and avoid downloading a replacement APK from an unofficial site. If you reused a password on the service, change it anywhere else you used it. Review payment and bank accounts if you entered card details, run a reputable device-security scan, and check browser extensions and notification permissions for anything unfamiliar. These are sensible precautions, not evidence that every targeted app harmed its users. For replacement viewing, check licensed services or the official broadcaster or league in your country; rights and catalogs vary by location.
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How large is Operation 404 overall?
The IIPA reported that from Operation 404’s launch in November 2019 through Phase 7, the campaign had taken down or blocked about 2,040 websites and 1,377 illicit streaming applications, removed more than 400 social-media profiles, and led to the arrests of 55 people connected to piracy operations in Brazil and Argentina. These are cumulative figures from an industry report, not a single current government dashboard. Terms such as “taken down,” “blocked,” “suspended” and “removed” can refer to different actions, so the figures should not be compared as if they all counted the same thing.
Enforcement continued after Phase 7. Specialist reporting on a later, eighth phase in November 2024 described another 535 websites and one streaming application blocked or removed. Those later figures are separate from the September 2024 Phase 7 totals and do not change what happened in the original announcement.
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