The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has formally asked the European Union to keep X on its Counterfeit and Piracy Watchlist, pointing to the platform’s alleged role in promoting infringing services, including Nigeria-based Waploaded.
The request appears in a 43-page submission filed as part of a consultation process. The current edition of the watchlist was published in May 2025, and the next version is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2027.
The filing covers a range of non-EU sites and apps, including stream-rippers, torrenting platforms, shadow libraries, and fake stream providers.
X’s alleged failures#
The IFPI said X operates “as a marketing platform” for many infringing services. It also raised concerns about X’s record on takedown notices and its search-related fees for rightsholders.
- “X does not appear to take effective steps to prevent notified content, or materially similar infringements, from reappearing,” the IFPI stated.
- “unlike any other platform, X charges right holders’ [sic] large amounts of money for the ability to search for tweets on its API that include or link to infringing content, at scale and without a time limitation,” according to the document.
Because X has allegedly failed to take “the steps expected of a diligent operator to prevent or minimise copyright and VINL infringements,” the IFPI said it “should therefore remain listed on the EU Counterfeit and Piracy Watchlist.”
Other named services#
The submission also includes Anna’s Archive, which drew attention after a widely reported Spotify hack. YouTube wrapper app Musi is named as well, despite its earlier removal from the App Store. “The app remains accessible on Apple devices where users had previously installed it,” the IFPI wrote.
Nigeria-based Waploaded is among the services the IFPI says X has helped promote. The organization noted that Waploaded appears to keep less active accounts on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Multiple domain name registrars are also included in the filing. Amid a push for site-blocking legislation in the United States, the IFPI said it “is currently tracking over 300 stream ripping sites.”
Watchlist timeline#
The filing follows a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Cox Communications case that narrowed the scope of secondary liability. That ruling has been followed by the shelving of multiple copyright suits against internet service providers (ISPs), X, and other parties over users’ alleged repeat infringement.
It is not yet clear whether the named sites and apps will appear on the final watchlist. The EU has said that “replies received will be taken into consideration in the context of the preparation of the Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List 2027.”
