(Credit: Amazon)
Don't miss out on our latest stories. Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google.
Amazon is blocking piracy-linked apps on its Fire TV Stick streaming devices. The takedown is currently underway in Germany and France, but will soon expand globally, The Athletic reports.
Fire TV Sticks typically only allow you to download apps from Amazon's Appstore, but many users have long taken advantage of the Fire TV platform to sideload unauthorized apps to illegally stream sports and movies. Amazon now plans to shut down such apps at the device level, on both new and older Fire TV Sticks.
"Piracy is illegal and we've always worked to block it from our app store," Amazon tells The Athletic. "We'll now block apps identified as providing access to pirated content, including those downloaded from outside our app store. This builds on our ongoing efforts to support creators and protect customers, as piracy can also expose users to malware, viruses, and fraud."
Amazon is partnering with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a coalition of 50+ entertainment companies fighting online piracy; TechRadar suggests it's using ACE's Trusted Notifier program to identify and remove sites blacklisted by the agency. Additionally, since the blocking takes place at the device level, VPNs will not be able to help users get around the ban, The Sun reports.
Amazon released a new Linux-based Fire TV Stick called 4K Select in September. While previous versions of the streaming device ran Android-based software and allowed sideloading, the new Linux-based Vega OS model will only let you download apps from Amazon's Appstore.