Chinese arrest of video pirates triggers outcry from ‘Friends’ fans

A file photo of people sitting next to a poster of Chinese sci-fi film ‘The Wandering Earth’ in Yichang in China. The topic ‘YYeTs.com investigated for pirated videos’ quickly became a top trending topic on the Weibo social media platform with users complaining they had lost a go-to platform for US shows such as ‘Friends’ and ‘Big Bang Theory’. — AFP

SHANGHAI: Chinese police said on Tuesday they have arrested 14 people who ran video portal YYeTs.com, which pirated foreign movies and television shows like Friends, triggering an outcry on social media from people lamenting the loss of the programmes.

Police in the financial hub of Shanghai said they arrested the people on charges of intellectual property infringement, adding that the website hosted more than 20,000 pieces of pirated content and had more than eight million registered users.