Brazilian law enforcement has launched what is being called the “largest-ever” operation to disrupt streaming fraud – the practice of creating fake streams of music or other media content to skim money from digital service providers or advertisers.
The initiative targets JustAnotherPanel, a global organization that provides technical infrastructure to a large network of resellers that offer fake streams used in streaming manipulation, according to global recorded music industry umbrella group IFPI.
Cyber Gaeco, the cybercrime unit of the prosecutor’s office in Sao Paulo, obtained a court order that blocked JustAnotherPanel in Brazil, and at least 43 local illegal services have been disrupted, and 1,131 resellers of streaming fraud services outside Brazil have been impacted, IFPI said in a statement on Tuesday (April 15).
According to music data tracking firm Beatdapp, music streaming fraud costs the music industry some $2 billion per year.
“By delivering fake music streams, JustAnotherPanel misled fans and ultimately diverted revenue away from artists and music creators,” IFPI said. “Such activity was found to amount to criminal offences including breach of consumer protection laws.”
IFPI said it’s “the single largest action yet” against streaming fraud.
“Fake streams aren’t just a numbers game – they harm artists and erode trust in our system,” IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley said.
Cyber Gaeco’s actions “reinforce[d] the value of authenticity in music and ensure[d] that Brazilian artists and music creators can continue to create new music,” Oakley added.
Paulo Rosa, President of Brazilian recorded music trade group Pro-Música, described streaming manipulation as “one of the biggest concerns of the music sector,” and said Pro-Música would “continue to work closely with Brazilian authorities to tackle these fraudulent practices and protect music consumers.”
“By delivering fake music streams, JustAnotherPanel misled fans and ultimately diverted revenue away from artists and music creators.”
Victoria Oakley, IFPI
Other countries’ efforts against streaming fraud have often focused on prolific individual streaming fraudsters, rather than the technology backing them. Last September, the US Department of Justice indicted a 52-year-old North Carolina resident for allegedly generating fake music streams that racked up some $10 million in royalties.
According to the indictment, Michael Smith employed a number of measures to boost streams, including using fake email accounts and cloud computer services, and paying for family plans on streaming platforms.
Also last year, a man in Denmark was convicted of artificially boosting the stream count on 689 tracks he had uploaded to streaming services including Apple Music, Spotify and YouSee Musik between 2013 and 2019.
Additionally, prosecutors said the tracks the defendant uploaded were not his own, but were instead other artists’ work that had their tempo and length changed,. The unnamed individual was found guilty of breaching copyright on 37 tracks.
Prosecutors initially said the defendant had earned the equivalent of $635,000 on the fraudulent streams, but ultimately only were only able to prove $290,000-worth of streaming fraud.
Brazil has proven itself to be a particularly aggressive jurisdiction when it comes to fighting streaming fraud and other forms of IP piracy.
Last month, authorities in the country arrested and charged an individual accused of uploading more than 400 fake tracks to Spotify. The tracks generated more than 28 million plays and earned the unnamed suspect some $65,000.
Authorities also alleged that the suspect had stolen 36 tracks from local composers through promotional WhatsApp groups.
In 2020, Brazilian authorities announced they had taken down 14 websites involved in streaming manipulation, and the following year, they announced they had shut down 10 streaming manipulation services, while another 20 stopped offering the services.
In 2023, Brazilian law enforcement took down FileWarez, which IFPI described as the most popular illicit file-sharing site in the country, which at its peak counted 118,000 registered users.
In 2024 law enforcement’s Operation Redirect took down eight illegal online music services that were being used to distribute malware to users.
For several years, Brazilian authorities have been running “Operation 404,” an ongoing initiative to take down copyright-infringing music services with the cooperation of trade groups like IFPI and Pro-Música. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, as of September 2024, seven Operation 404 initiatives had been carried out, the most recent focusing on stream-ripping sites and apps in Brazil and Paraguay.Music Business Worldwide
