MyCima, the second-largest piracy operation in the Middle East region, was shut down by the Egyptian authorities following a referral from the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s largest and most effective anti-piracy coalition.

Based in Alexandria, Egypt, the illegal service averaged more than 55 million visits per month prior to its shutdown and comprised more than 70 domains and numerous copycats. Some 12,000 movies and 26,000 TV series, including content from all ACE members, were offered for direct download or streaming.

“The latest shut-down in the Middle East reinforces the fact that no matter where in the world they are, criminal distributors of pirated content can’t hide,” said Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Global Content Protection Chief for the Motion Picture Association and Head of ACE. “Whether they operate on a global or national level, these operators will have to face the consequences of their illegal actions. We applaud the action taken by the Egyptian authorities and look forward to supporting them in further actions. We would also like to thank the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for their work in the investigation and protection of intellectual property rights.”

ACE partnered with two of its new MENA-based members, OSN and MBC GROUP, on this action.

“The shutdown of MyCima is a significant victory for the entertainment industry and sends a strong message to those who engage in the illegal distribution of content. As a member of ACE, OSN is committed to protecting the rights of content creators and producers and will continue to support actions that combat piracy in the region,” said Joe Kawkabani, Chief Executive Officer of OSN, a leading MENA provider of premium global and local content. “Through collaboration and collective efforts, we will protect the creativity and innovation that drives the global growth of our industry.”

Natasha Matos-Hemingway, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Shahid, a leading Arabic streaming platform by MBC GROUP, added: “MyCima was identified as one of the top pirating websites that was streaming our content illegally. Unsurprisingly, this affected our business as it would affect any media production company in the region. We have successfully managed to block more than 121 websites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and more than 26 websites in the United Arab Emirates. Together with ACE, our efforts towards terminating these illegal platforms will help discourage and decrease the number of pirates stealing our content.”

This article was first published on Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment