Following a complaint from The Walt Disney Company-owned Star India last year, Bengaluru City police said a suspect was in custody. “We have arrested Shisharam Badiiya from his native place Rajasthan for copyright violation based on a complaint by Star India,” Deputy Commissioner Anoop Shetty said. According to The Economic Times, the suspect is a college student allegedly involved in monetizing advertising from illegal streams of Star India and Disney+ Hotstar content via the PikaShow Android app. Police were reportedly able to track him down by tracing his mobile phone number.
Complaints of Piracy, Further Investigation
The investigation was sparked by Star India’s May 2022 illegal streaming complaint, which mentioned the following websites and their mirror/replica websites, together with the PikaShow streaming application:
1tamilmv.bar tamilblasters.top tamilrockermovies.us
Together with PikaShow, these domains were found to be hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. In addition to making money from advertising on illegal streams, the PikaShow app sponsored the Afghan national cricket team during Asia Cup 2022 by way of a logo on players’ team uniforms — effectively adding insult to injury by advertising itself on Indian broadcast TV.
Star India, Hollywood MPA Filed Several Complaints
The complaints filed were under the Information Technology Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Copyright Act. Furthermore, domain registrars were told to suspend all PikaShow domains, while every internet service provider in India was told to block the app by Delhi courts. Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) antipiracy organization included PikaShow in its “Notorious Markets” report submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in October of last year. ACE also led the shutdown of several pirate streaming services in Latin America, Singapore, and Malaysia in 2022, resulting in numerous arrests. According to a 2019 IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) report, online piracy costs the U.S. almost $30 billion a year and causes 560,000 industry job losses as a result. The Global Innovation Policy Center, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a 2019 report that over 80% of piracy is attributable to illegal streaming. “Research indicates that more than 80% of piracy is attributable to streaming. Illegal streaming is enabled by piracy devices and apps, which have overtaken BitTorrent and other download-based technologies that deliver unauthorized live television shows and video on demand over the internet.”
Is PikaShow Still Around?
At the time of writing, the app is still available for download on its website. There are numerous APK files (Android setup files) with distinctive PikaShow branding that pop up after a simple online search, but PikaShow is still a drop in the ocean as far as such apps and illegal streaming are concerned. Often referred to as the “Netflix of Piracy,” the hugely popular Popcorn Time app was shut down in January of last year. However, app developers can create an open-source system that allows improved versions to stay alive while forks and mirror sites usually crop up somewhere. Ultimately, it is best to avoid illegal, ad-riddled streaming apps and websites, for both privacy and security reasons. Legitimate platforms not only offer peace of mind, but also full-quality streams and customer support, which is never the case with short-lived piracy platforms. If you own an Android, make sure to check out our full guide to Android privacy and security to protect yourself and your private information while on the internet.
