The Justice Department on Monday said it shut down 55 websites that were illegally streaming World Cup games before this week's semifinals.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which owns the rights to the games, in September notified the U.S. government of websites being used to distribute and transmit copyright-infringing content, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ reviewed World Cup games accessible from each domain name violating FIFA's copyright and alleged in the affidavit that the pirated content is "the private financial gain to these websites' operators."
The World Cup is known to be the world's most widely followed sporting event. This year's tournament is expected to have some 5 billion viewers internationally.
"HSI will continue to focus on removing websites that facilitate digital piracy, and other intellectual property violations, from the internet," special agent in charge James C. Harris said in a statement. "While many may believe that such websites do not constitute serious threats, the infringement upon rights holders of any intellectual property is a growing threat to our economic viability. The impact can be felt across multiple industries, and it can be the conduit to other forms of criminal activity."
The Justice Department did not name the domains that had been seized but said users visiting the sites will now receive a prompt saying the federal government has seized the domain and will be redirected to another website for additional information.
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