Amazon to start blocking sideloaded piracy apps on Fire TVs

In a new first for the company, Amazon will begin blocking sideloaded apps on Fire TV devices that are determined to provide access to pirated content, according to The Sun. While Amazon has a long history of blacklisting apps, it has previously done so only to stop users from bypassing its Fire TV home screen with custom launchers or to prevent malicious apps. This new app blocking marks the first time Amazon has actively restricted Fire TV users from accessing pirated content, primarily to aid copyright holders.

Earlier this year, Amazon blocked several Fire TV apps primarily used to view pirated content. On the surface, it seemed Amazon’s objection was their role in piracy, but the real issue appears to have been the apps’ use of resource-monetization services that grant cybercriminals access to devices and residential IPs for malicious activity. That rationale was effectively confirmed when updated versions of the blacklisted apps were no longer blocked after developers removed the offending monetization services.

This time, Amazon is simply going after apps that provide unauthorized access to copyrighted content. The company will reportedly compare the apps installed on Fire TV devices with a list of known piracy apps maintained by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), an anti-piracy coalition. If a piracy app is found on the Fire TV, a two-stage removal process will be triggered.

Users of piracy apps will first be notified, presumably through an on-device message, that the apps they are using are not permitted and will be removed. After some time has passed, Amazon will block the app and prevent it from being used. The company has not said how long users will see the piracy notification before the app is blocked.

This new piracy app blocking policy will affect both official apps from the Amazon Appstore, which Amazon has always kept clear of piracy apps, and sideloaded apps, which Amazon has not regulated in the past. It also appears that this will affect both Android-based Fire TV devices running Fire OS and the Vega OS-based Fire TV Stick 4K Select. Amazon says that sideloading non-piracy apps will continue to be allowed. The list of apps that will be blocked is unknown, but I’ve reached out to Amazon for more details and will update this article if any are provided.