Romanian authorities have shut down the 990.ro domain, a “gateway” where users could illegally watch the latest movies and TV shows.
The website was shut down on July 7, along with several other smaller torrent sites. Authorities initially seized its domain, but for the next four days, users continued to access the site via its IP address, which is no longer available.
The closure of 990.ro is part of a larger anti-piracy crackdown taking place in the country.
It all started in November 2012, when Media Pro, the company behind the country’s largest television station Pro TV, filed an official complaint through the National Council of Audio-Visuals (CNA).
At the time, Media Pro had launched Voyo.ro, the country’s first legal streaming media platform, four years before Netflix entered the Romanian market.
The list included the addresses of 42 websites where users could watch or download movies illegally. 990.ro was on the list.
Since 2012, most of the sites have been shut down on their own, mostly after Media Pro filed an official complaint, but some of them have continued to operate. The biggest takedown came in February 2016 when authorities shut down Vplay.ro, by far the most popular site.
After the removal of Vplay.ro, most of the users started using 990.ro, where you say that movies and TV series were available a few hours after their release, with full Romanian subtitles.
For distributing audiovisual material, the people responsible for the page face from one to four years in prison and must pay a fine of 2,500 – 40,000 lei. In addition, they may be charged with money laundering and tax evasion.
