The story behind HuraWatch, one of the illegal movie sites which receives high traffic globally, HuraWatch is a stark reminder of the strides our legislation has ‘accomplished’. As this service remained a sore spot for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) which advocates the interests of major Hollywood film production houses for years. The activities of this pirated website used to result in enormous losses for both providers and filmmakers.

The web service license for HuraWatch which operated out of Vietnam was eventually declared illegal, resulting in them being blocked in the US and in a host of other countries. It was only after commencing a criminal investigation that the Vietnamese Authorities were able to gain control over the illegal service. Negotiations between the US Ambassador to Vietnam and the Head of the local Ministry of Information and Communications set the wheels in motion. But first things first.