Cloudstream APK Removed from GitHub after MPA Complaint

Cloudstream APK has been removed from GitHub following a complaint from the MPA.

The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which represents major Hollywood studios and Netflix, has successfully had two repositories of the open-source Android app Cloudstream removed from GitHub.

Cloudstream is an Android app (APK) that aggregates pirated content from third-party streaming sources.

This APK has gained popularity in recent years as an unauthorized alternative to legal streaming services like Amazon, Disney, and Netflix.

Unlike these services, Cloudstream offers all popular titles for free, using sleek designs and user-friendly apps to attract a wide audience.

In the past, Cloudstream has been targeted by companies like Sky UK, but it was the MPA’s takedown notice in March that finally made the app’s developer, known as “Lag”, voluntarily take down the Cloudstream.cf website and some of the app’s code.

 

Lag justified this move as a desire to avoid legal trouble with the MPA, a coalition that he described as “the absolute worst anti-piracy coalition.”

They stated the following about the MPA:

“Having the absolute worst anti-piracy coalition on our a**es is not preferable. They will undoubtedly f**k us legally if they have to. Think what you want but I do not want all of Hollywood after me because of some hobby project.”

The MPA’s takedown notice didn’t just target the website, but also various files from third-party Cloudstream code repositories, which were mostly related to extensions.

GitHub took these files offline, but left the repositories online. The main repository, which only hosts the basic app code without any extensions, is still on GitHub and is still being actively developed.

Despite this initial success, the MPA isn’t done with Cloudstream. This week, it sent another takedown notice to GitHub, asking it to take down two more code repositories, in their entirety.

The MPA alleged that these repositories hosted and offered the APK software, CloudStream, for download, and that this software was used for “massive infringement of copyrighted motion pictures and television shows”.

In response, GitHub removed the two repositories named “CloudStream-2”, including one that belonged to Lag.

Now, users who try to access these URLs are met with a “Repository unavailable due to DMCA takedown” notice.

Interestingly, the code in these repositories isn’t new. It’s from an older release that has been available on GitHub for years, and is no longer actively supported.

Unlike the newer versions of Cloudstream, it didn’t depend on extensions, and could therefore likely be used as a pirate streaming app straight away.

Moreover, these repositories included screenshots demonstrating how the APK could be used to stream pirated content, which probably didn’t help their case.

There’s a notable difference between the ‘fully-loaded’ versions of Cloudstream that are directly capable of streaming pirated content, and the ‘bare’ versions that aren’t.

MPA’s takedown notices have so far only targeted extension files, leaving the basic Cloudstream repositories untouched.

The MPA’s actions suggest a willingness to allow the extension-based app to remain on GitHub, at least for the time being.

However, the future of Cloudstream on GitHub remains uncertain as there are no guarantees that the MPA’s position won’t change.

Regardless, it’s clear that copyright holders like the MPA are increasingly vigilant about such potential sources of copyright infringement, and are leveraging their legal muscle to shut down these platforms.

For more information on this story, refer to the original report from TorrentFreak.

You can also watch the video below for more information on Cloudstream APK.

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