Kodi addon developers are being targeted as part of an anti-piracy campaign

[Len]

Several Kodi addons have been shut down, after developers were targeted as part of an anti-piracy campaign.

The news will come as a huge blow to people who use Kodi to stream films, TV shows and live sports for free.

The Colossus addon repository, which was home to a number of popular addons including URL Resolver, DeathStreams, Covenant and Bennu, has gone offline.

The developer behind URL Resolver, which helps other addons access content, says he's stopping “all development” of his existing addons, and will only develop “100% legal stuff” on Kodi in the future.

Meanwhile, another Kodi addon developer called The_Alpha revealed that he had been targeted by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).

“This letter is addressed to you by companies of the six-major United States film studios represented by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), namely Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Disney Enterprises, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corporation, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios LLLP and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Netflix, Inc. and Amazon Studios LLC (represented by MPA via the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)), Sky UK Limited, and The Football Association Premier League Limited,” reads a letter he received, which was published by TVAddons.

“We are writing to you concerning your development, distribution and/or involvement in the operation of certain third party Kodi add-ons under the moniker ‘The Alpha’. The infringing addons provide unlawful access to protected copyright works, including works owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Content Companies.”

The_Alpha also appears to have ceased all Kodi addon development.

Earlier today, a new report revealed serious safety flaws affecting so-called “Kodi boxes”.

According to experts, who tested nine popular models, users should unplug them immediately, as they could electrocute users or even cause fires.

“Given the nature of the safety issues we found, [the worst case result of one of the devices malfunctioning] would be for a fire to break out, causing severe property damage and even fatalities, and of course fatalities from electric shock,” Steve Curtler, product safety manager at Electrical Safety First