Real-Debrid Strengthens Anti-Piracy Measures Amid Pressure from French Film Distributors

Real-Debrid, a service known for providing access to premium and unrestricted downloads from various file hosting and torrent websites, has announced significant changes to its operations. This development comes in response to mounting pressure from French film distribution companies to curb piracy facilitated through its platform.

As a middleman facilitating access to file-hosting platforms and enabling instant streaming of content from torrent sites, Real-Debrid has developed features that have been particularly attractive to individuals engaging in piracy. Despite having an active Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) removal policy to handle complaints from rightsholders, the company has faced criticism for not doing enough.

A recent formal notice from the French Film Distributors Federation (FNEF) prompted Real-Debrid to intensify its anti-piracy efforts. To stave off potential legal battles, the company has decided to implement several measures aimed at appeasing rightsholders.

One of the key steps includes blocking content from numerous cyberlockers on the US Trade Representative’s notorious markets list. Although the names of these cyberlockers have not been officially disclosed, RapidGator, Mega, Dbree, and KrakenFiles are speculated to be among those affected.

Additionally, Real-Debrid plans to disable certain features, such as those used by third-party services and applications, including media centers like Kodi and Plex. The ‘instantAvailability’ feature, which allows instant streaming and downloading of cached videos, including potentially pirated content, will also be deactivated.

The company is also implementing keyword filtering to detect and block pirated content. Real-Debrid acknowledges the risk of false positives in this approach but considers this a necessary step. Moreover, private torrent trackers will not be exempt from scrutiny, as Real-Debrid will block all torrent hashes from trackers involved in lawsuits filed at the Paris Judicial Court.

Real-Debrid further commits to deleting all currently cached files that match the set filters. The decision to ban «all counterfeit Kodi and Stremio applications» is an apparent reference to third-party tools and extensions that enable near-instant playback features.

The announced changes have met dissatisfaction from many of Real-Debrid’s paying customers, who are unsure how the adjustments will affect their usage of the service. Not all users rely on the ‘instant’ streaming tool; thus, the impact will vary depending on how comprehensive the hash and filename filters are.

The pressure from French movie distributors now appears to dictate Real-Debrid’s operational adjustments. Should these measures prove inadequate, the same rightsholders may likely return with further demands.