Photo Credit: Samuel Costa Melo
A São Paulo court has ordered the shutdown of a website accused of selling fake views and engagement on music streaming platforms.
A court in São Paulo, Brazil, has issued a decision against a website that provided services enabling streaming fraud. Boom de Seguidores offered “plays” on Spotify, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, and others, as well as likes, followers, and comments on social platforms.
The court confirmed that the sale of artificial engagement services is illegal under Brazilian law and constitutes misleading advertising. As a result, the court ordered a permanent and dynamic shutdown of the domain and any related domains. Further, the site operators are ordered to refrain from offering or marketing services involving “coordinated inauthentic behavior” and a payment of penalty fees.
The move is the latest by Operation Authêntica, launched in 2023 and led by CyberGaeco and the Consumer Protection Prosecutor’s Office of the State of São Paulo. It is supported by IFPI and APDIF do Brasil, following increased focus on the impact of streaming fraud at the IFPI Global Music Report event in London.
The initiative centers on fighting the commercialization of fraudulent engagement services, such as those that artificially inflate plays on music streaming platforms. The recent move is the third by the initiative, following two against Seguidores and one against Turbine Digital.
“Under Operation Authêntica, the courts have consistently confirmed that services that enable streaming fraud mislead consumers and are unlawful. This illicit business model commercializes fraud and, in the music context, ultimately diverts royalties from legitimate creators,” said Melissa Morgia. “IFPI would like to thank the authorities for their ongoing efforts and will continue to support actions that create serious consequences for those involved.”
“This decision is another step forward in fighting streaming fraud. Robust enforcement is part of the meaningful and sustained action needed across the industry. Companies at every stage of the streaming value chain—labels, distributors, platforms, aggregators—must take proactive steps to prevent, to detect, and then to act on fraudulent activity,” Morgia continued.
“Pro-Música and APDIF applaud the decision taken by the Judge of the 12a Vara Cível of São Paulo-SP, in which the operators of the website [Boom de Seguidores] were considered as offering misleading advertising and committing fraud, including the ones against the consumers, ordering such website to be shut down,” Paulo Rosa, President of Pro-Música Brasil and APDIF do Brasil, said.
“In the case of recorded music, the website’s ‘marketing services’ included the sale of fake and artificial ‘plays’ of music on streaming platforms, which was clearly considered illegal and fraudulent,” Rosa added. “We also thank the State Public Attorney’s office of the State of São Paulo for their continuing efforts to protect the legitimate Brazilian music streaming market.”
