FBI Anti-Piracy Warning

An FBI Anti-Piracy Warning (also called an FBI Warning) is a type of warning by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Warnings are used on videotapes and DVDs. These warn about penalties, going into jail, and/or a $250,000 fine.

FBI Warning screens, in the early days, had the red word "WARNING" flashing, making it scary. In other cases, FBI Warning screens were scrolling, and some were showing typing of the Warning. These screens have been appearing since 1975 on most home media products. On 20th Century Fox releases until 1999, the FBI warning appeared at the end of tapes, with the exception of some in which the Warning would appear at the beginning of the tapes and sometimes at both ends of tapes. Since 1999, most Fox releases have the Warning at the beginning rather than at the end. Walt Disney Home Video tapes have 8 different FBI warnings.