Filipino media and entertainment group ABS-CBN has filed a $4 million (€3.59m) lawsuit against a Texas resident and a streaming service for allegedly pirating its content through illegal set-top boxes.

Anthony Brown and 1700 Cuts Technology were accused of selling the set-top boxes on Facebook, enabling buyers to access ABS-CBN’s live programming without paying appropriate fees.

The scheme was “not licensed or affiliated in any way with ABS-CBN,” according to ABS-CBN Assistant Vice President and Head of Global Anti-Piracy Elisha Lawrence.

“What these pirates do is literally rob from this ecosystem of content creators, pretend to own the content, and scam customers by making money off that content. ABS-CBN is committed to stopping them and bringing them to justice,” said Jun Del Rosario, Managing Director for North and Latin America.

The only genuine ABS-CBN Internet subscription services are The Filipino Channel on cable and satellite, IPTV and TFC.tv, advised Lawrence.

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