By Robert Briel
Pirate streaming site 123movies, also known as 123movieshub and GoMovies, has announced its shutdown.
According to a message posted on the site, it will close the site at the end of the week. With millions of visitors per day, it is one of the largest pirate streaming sites on the web.
“We’ve been providing links to movies and shows for years. Now it’s time to say goodbye. Thank you for being our friends and thanks for staying with us that long,” the 123movies team writes.
The news comes just days after a recent investigation by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) that has found that the illegal movie site is being operated from Vietnam.
“Right now, the most popular illegal site in the world, 123movies.to (at this point), is operated from Vietnam, and has 98 million visitors a month,” said Jan van Voorn, executive vice president and chief of Global Content Protection at the MPAA.
The MPAA is in Vietnam as part of a global campaign to deal with illegal movie sites. According to Voorn, the association’s goal is to support legitimate markets and businesses, while at the same time dealing with illegal outlets.
