Overview
- The Justice Department announced on June 26 that it seized nearly 400 internet domains that were used to stream 2026 World Cup matches in real time, with Homeland Security Investigations confirming the sites were actively broadcasting without authorization.
- The action was carried out under a seizure warrant supported by an affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, which provided the legal basis to take control of the domains.
- The operation was part of Operation Offsides and coordinated through the ICHIP network, with targeted disruptions of servers and domains in Peru and Bulgaria and additional actions in Croatia, Romania, Poland and Colombia.
- FIFA and major rights holders including NBCUniversal, Warner Bros., beIN, the Motion Picture Association’s ACE and the UFC supplied identification leads used to locate the illicit streams.
- Authorities said the sweep is roughly five times larger than the 2022 World Cup effort, warned viewers that illegal streams can deliver malware and expose personal and financial data, and said further enforcement and possible prosecutions may follow.