The U.S. Justice Department has seized more than 1,000 websites and blocked 1,970 domains used to stream FIFA World Cup 2026 matches without authorization.
Law enforcement authorities identified the seized domains using leads provided by U.S. authorities, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the Motion Picture Association's Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), and multiple entertainment networks, including beIN Media Group, NBCUniversal, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and Warner Bros.
These seizures are part of several joint law enforcement actions based on investigations by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) and the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington.
The Justice Department's Criminal Division seized over a thousand domains as part of Operation Offsides, a joint law enforcement action led by the IPR Center in coordination with HSI Washington and involving 14 partners across 54 countries, including nearly 400 web domains by the end of last month.
"Operation Offsides is part of the Department's ongoing effort to protect copyright while reducing the risk to American consumers from the malicious software embedded in many illicit streaming services," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva.
