The Internet, one of the most powerful creations of humanity. Since its creation in the early 2000s, it has aided us in many ways, like teaching, learning, and sharing information. Its influence reaches the farthest corners of the globe and encapsulates many fields like education, social media, business and trade, news, and entertainment. As technology becomes more accessible to the public, dependence on it has also increased. Regarding entertainment, people are attempting to gain control and more resources under the radar—for convenient and inexpensive results. Hence, there has been an increase in the usage of online piracy websites; at least 12% in the last four years, and over 300 million visits regularly. One of them is TamilRockers, a platform that allows users to watch and download pirated content. And a ‘TamilRockers Proxy’ is their way to access it.

A. What is TamilRockers?

TamilRockers is an online piracy group that has impacted the movie industry, particularly Kollywood, the Tamil Industry. It was established in 2011—previously known for selling pirated DVDs—and since then, it has expanded its targets towards other regional movies and even international films. Though the negative aspects outweigh the positive ‘justifications’, here is a list of both of them.

a. Positive qualities:

• Content availability: This website offers a variety of content in many languages, sometimes even the less popular regional films, which are not available anywhere else.
• Motivate legal websites: The fact that an illegal site has more flexibility and range of movies and TV shows is a source of motivation for registered websites to be more available and less expensive.

b. Negative aspects:

• Illegal website: The platform is a website that is notoriously popular for its illegal operations. Like any other privacy site, it distributes content without the knowledge or permission of the original creators. Both those who offer them and the ones who use them will be punished in many countries, including India.
• Financial damages: The popularity of such websites comes from their user base, and the more people use them, the more losses the entertainment industry makes. In India, the piracy industry is valued at 224 billion INR, a number that is a stain on the country and society as it represents the injustice done to many movies, which are either released a day on these sites after their release or sometimes, days before. It has a severe impact on the box office collections, especially for small-budget filmmakers, whose movies may flop financially, despite their reception.
• Poor quality and Spoilers: TamilRockers does not offer the best visual and audio services for their pirated movies. Their early leaks may satisfy an impatient person, but can ruin the experience for a fan who could’ve come across them accidentally. Most of its content is filmed secretly using smartphones or small cameras, which results in a lack of quality.
• Security Risks: Using such websites can lead to digital disasters like hacking, losing financial and personal data, and a breach of mobile security. Often, the pop-up advertisements that the website uses can take you away to inappropriate and gambling sites, along with the risk of permanent damage to the device.
• Ethical concerns: Such websites are like a slap in the face of creative artists who spend months or years to materialise their ideas into reality. If everyone could access their work without respecting it, it would undermine the hard work of everyone involved in defining and practising the craft.
• Illegal economy: Since the online piracy sector makes enormous numbers annually, it is publicly promoting a black market where they sell enjoyment and creative results for no price.

B. TamilRockers Proxy:

It is a website that is an intermediary between the users and the TamilRockers platform. The reason behind its creation is simple: to allow users to access the platform in case it is blocked by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

a. Origin:

TamilRockers promoted proxy sites due to the restrictions placed by the government and other agencies; the latter began blocking the main domain address, and this encouraged them to create intermediaries. Proxy servers and mirror domains to this site began circulating in 2016, which allowed users to bypass the restrictions.

b. How do they work?

They help the users by redirecting their internet traffic through a different server (similar to VPN, although it is used for different functions), and this conceals the user’s IP address and location. Some also lead to mirror sites, which are exact copies of the original website.

c. Examples of proxy sites:

Some of the examples of proxy sites are 1tamilmv.run, tamilrockers.ws/proxy, tamilrockers. unblock.ws/proxy, tamilrockers.123unblock.top/ and more. As one can observe, their names are similar and are closely associated with the original website, which makes it easy to find for not only the users, but also the cybersecurity officials. Despite it being public knowledge, the authorities are not able to do much because of the constant and quick changes in their operations.

d. Security risks:

Using proxy websites can lead to security breaches of personal and financial data. Not the mention the legal implications it would have, as watching and providing pirated movies will lead to a prison sentence and fines in many countries, and India falls under that category.

C. Reason for its Usage:

People utilise these proxy websites to find news about the latest movies or watch available spoilers and leaked content related to them. Such an instinct to use these sites relies on the user’s perspective. If one is impatient, they are lured to illegal websites:

• Free access:

As mentioned before, all the content on TamilRockers and its proxies is provided their content for free. This makes people lean towards unregistered websites rather than the ones that are registered.

• Spoilers:

Although most people don’t appreciate them, some people prefer to watch spoilers to face the anxiety of the unknown.

• Accessibility:

For other countries, regional Indian movies. Many of which are not available on any known platforms, can be accessed easily.

D. Legal and Ethical Implications:

• Punishment:

The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the Copyright Act, 1957, are the main acts against online movie piracy in India. The former is concerned with unauthorised recording, exhibition, and transmission of films, while the latter protects the intellectual property rights of movie creators.

• Degradation of Creativity:

The existence of pirated content is an insult to creative artists, who dedicate most of their time to working on their projects. If everyone could access them, it could mentally and emotionally ruin a creator.

E. Measures against piracy:

• In India:

The recent years have shown much progress in tracking and shutting down illegal websites, but the other side has also gotten smarter. The trick up their sleeve is proxy and mirror websites like the TamilRockers group had created. Many Indian courts have utilised ISPs and directed them to block access to TamilRockers and all its affiliates. For example, the Delhi High Court led the action to block TamilRockers and other piracy sites like Limetorrents, which were found to be distributing and streaming content illegally. The Madras High Court has also directed ISPs to block over 12,000 websites that are linked to movie piracy.

Organisations like the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) have also taken action and have successfully suspended domains involved in pirating movies like Vada Chennai.

• Global actions:

In the United States and many European countries, anti-piracy groups such as the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) track illegal sites and take action against piracy. Many websites like TamilRockers were retaliated against by organisations like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States and many others with the same purpose: to eliminate the illegal use of films. The offenders face severe consequences like hefty fines and imprisonment that can vary from country the country and the severity of the crime.

F. Alternatives:

It is always for the best to choose better options than the ones that will lead to punishment. Hence, here are some safer alternatives to TamilRockers:

• Netflix:

It is a global streaming service that provides an array of content like movies, TV shows, documentaries, and even games across the world. More than 190 countries have users with paid memberships. It can be accessed on multiple devices, and a single person can have many accounts, which facilitates sharing between friends. The quality of the content is also exquisite, and Netflix also recommends films according to the user’s history.

• JioHotstar:

According to the latest information, Disney+ Hotstar has merged with another popular streaming service, JioCinema. This amalgamation combines both of their content library and provides more services and quality. They also have regional content and stream live sports like cricket, football, and more.

• Amazon Prime Video:

It is a leading platform that has a splendid collection of movies and TV shows. The subscription not only benefits the users in entertainment but also in other spheres, like Amazon.com. Though it begins at an expensive price, it has many uses and pros.

• Apple TV+

Exclusive to IOS users, Apple TV offers many original series, movies, and documentaries. It can be accessed through a variety of Apple devices and has a good collection liked by many for its quality.

• YouTube:

This platform is popular for its usage and availability of movies. Most of the trending films are released a year or two later, which is a downside. But movies that have been around for a long time can be found here. YouTube also provides paid movies that can be bought or rented. After purchase, you would have 30 days to start watching, and after you do, you have 48 hours to ‘keep’ the movie.

To conclude, although the world makes efforts and creates reforms to fight against the misuse and piracy of creative content, people still find a way to get around the rules. TamilRockers will continue to manifest and promote intermediary websites only when people continue to demand and use the website. Online piracy is a crime, and only together can we distinguish it before it spreads its fires and burns away the toil of creators.

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