In justice against the social network VKontakte resort to Sony, Universal and Warner Music, accusing the "Russian Facebook" of large-scale infringement Copyright.
These actions are coordinated within the framework of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (Ifpi), which represents recording Companies from all over the world.
Companies blame it VKontakte – which is the second largest social network in Europe – to create a "large library" of music for which it does not have the rights, which it offers as a service to users, as part of its operation. They are seeking a court order in Russia to remove a number of files from this service.
In a statement, Ifli's managing director, Frances Moore, says the issue has been repeatedly highlighted over a long period of time. "We encouraged VK to stop the violations and negotiate with the record labels to become a legitimate service. Until now, the company has not taken steps in that direction, so they are starting legal proceedings. "
According to a BBC report, VK has long been the target of copyright law enforcement agencies, with the US Trade Representative's annual report on "infamous markets" indicating it as a problem. Also, in November of 2012, the Russian Supreme Court found guilty about the illegal distribution of music belonging to the Gala Music Group.
VK has 143 million users worldwide, of which 88 million are within Russia. It is noted that, according to the Guardian, last August he had offered a job to Edward Snowden, while he had also been criticized for hosting homophobic groups such as Occupy Paedophilia, who used the social network to attract homosexuals to places where they were attacked.
