Streameast Appeals Against Domain Seizures

A while ago, Streameast hit the headlines when the US law enforcement authorities seized its main domains. The popular sports streaming site plans to challenge the action in court.

Streameast has been one of the go-to platforms for sports enthusiasts looking to watch live sports for free. Its popularity peaked in May 2024 when Lebron James, one of the most decorated sports personalities, was caught on video using the site to stream an NBA playoff match.

Three months later, the popular streaming site hit the headlines again after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized its main domains. When users tried to access the affected domains, they encountered a domain seizure banner from law enforcement.

The banner reads:

This domain has been seized by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) pursuant to a warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana under the authority of, inter alia, Title 18,  United States Code, Section 2323.

According to US laws, sites like Streameast operate illegally and once seized, the operators face several retributions, including forfeiture. As you would expect, Streameast, a piracy site, would have walked away and forfeited the seized domains.

Read: How to Install and Use Best VPN for FireStick

Streameast to Appeal Domain Seizure

Unexpectedly, they did the opposite. The site admins are planning to appeal the decision by the US law enforcement authorities. Talking to TorrentFreak, StreamEast reveals they will file an appeal in court in the coming days.

“The warrant did not provide any reasons for the shutdown, which is quite intriguing. As a result, we have doubts about the legitimacy of this decision, and we will be filing an appeal in the coming days, ” said Quick, a Streameast admin speaking to TorrentFreak.

Upon receiving the warrant, the Streameast team had more questions than answers. The original warrant was sent to Tonic Registry, the domain name registry that provides the .to top-level domain.

This is in line with the seized domains as one of the main domains was thestreameast.to. Streameast obtained a copy of the warrant from Tonic, but that was all they got. No extra paperwork or other detailed explanation or legal notice. While this information may have been sent to Tonic, Streameast only saw the copy of the warrant.

Authorities Didn’t Send Any Official Requests or Warnings

The US law enforcement authorities didn’t send any official requests or warnings to Streameast before the seizure. This argument barely holds water because it is standard practice for authorities to seize domains out of the blue. This secrecy ensures the site operators don’t take preventive measures or back up their data.

Quick noted:

…Before the shutdown requests, we did not receive any official requests.

Streameast further revealed to TorrentFreak that while they didn’t see the seizure coming, they had received a couple of DMCA notices. However, DMCA notices are a norm for piracy sites, and they just changed hosting providers.

We’ve never received any legal threats in the past. However, we constantly receive DCMA requests, which have led us to change hosting providers several times. This is normal, given the nature of the business.

Is the Appeal Worth It?

As we noted earlier, forfeiture is one of the retributions piracy sites face in a legal battle. The US government takes over your domains and related data.

Given the existing copyright protection laws, it is unusual for a pirate site to challenge such a decision. However, Streameast is not the first piracy site to challenge the US government. In 2012, Rojadirecta, a sports streaming and download site, won a legal battle against the government and had its domains returned.

Does Streameast stand a chance?

It’s hard to tell. As of 2020, unauthorized streaming sites can be criminally charged for violating copyright protection laws. This bill was passed and signed into law. The copyright legislation officially made streaming piracy a felony punishable through jail time, fines, forfeiture, and restitution.

In the Meantime

When the US government seizes a domain, the service goes offline until it is appealed or for good. Most of the affected services leave users confused, and they have no choice but to look for alternatives.

That was not the case with Streameast.

Hours after some of the domains were seized, the site operators updated the users on the issue and offered alternative domains to access the streams. The rollout was so swift that not many users realized some domains were seized.

As of this writing, there are over 10 Streameast mirror sites where you can access sporting events streaming links. The operators have assured users of their devotion to making sports streaming affordable and accessible to every sports enthusiast.

They insist the current subscription-based sports streaming is expensive, and they will only back down if the prices drop. Although they have not given a solid figure they deem affordable to everyone, Streameast says as soon as this figure is met, they will shut down operations.

While we can somewhat understand the need to pay in today’s world, it’s clear that the current prices are unrealistic. If a sports fan wants to watch all sporting events, including UFC and boxing PPVs, the monthly cost is $1500.

Streameast Feels Targeted

It’s no secret that piracy streaming is on the rise. Sports right holders haven’t spoken on the Streameast issue, but they would agree with the government’s decision to seize the domains. This is because most piracy streaming sites reap where they didn’t sow by reproducing and distributing copyrighted content.

Streameast doesn’t deny benefiting. However, they feel targeted because the government left out dozens of competitor sites and copycats who are still operational.

Streameast spokesperson says:

It’s perplexing that while the real Streameast domain names are being seized, the sites created by gangs who set up fake Streameast sites are still operational. These gangs replicate every major streaming site, employing spam tactics to rank high on Google, and they have no ethical values.

Streameast believes the US government is barking up the wrong tree because the criminal gangs using their brand on malware-laden sites are the real villains. Quick told Torrentfreak:

I wish the US would choose to deal with these gangs instead of targeting us.

Despite the legal struggles between the streaming platform and the US government, Streameast remains devoted to its user base. The 10-plus online mirror sites provide high-quality streaming links for major sports leagues.

We would like to hear your thoughts on this developing story. Kindly share your comments below.

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