Italian Guardia di Finanza takes down five illegal file sharing sites

The Italian Guardia di Finanza (GDF) claims to have taken down five illegal file sharing sites that offered illegal copies of movies, music, TV shows, games and software, often even before their commercial release date.

The Guardia di Finanza (GDF) is an agency falling under the Italian ministry of economy and finance and specializes in financial crimes. The agency is increasingly involved in illegal file sharing cases and lawsuits. Following their research, the GdF has now shut down a number of sites, including ItaliaShare, MusicShare, FilmShare and ItalianSexy. According to the GDF, these sites have around 136 thousand subscribers and carry approximately 31 thousand infringing files.

The GDF also notes that the seized data provides specific facts relating to those who were responsible for illegally sharing tens of thousands of protected copyright works online. It is unclear if the GDF will take legal actions against these persons. However, GDF did announced to file complaints against three alleged owners of the filesharing sites with assistance from the Italian music, software, and film industries.

Reference: TorrentFreak

By: Karen Groen