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  • RapidShare Fires 75% of its Staff After “Rogue Site” Revamp Bites

    RapidShare is fighting through a crisis after a massive downturn in business forced it to fire three-quarters of its workforce, an insider has revealed. After being labeled a “rogue site” by the U.S. Government, in 2011 the file-hosting service reportedly burned through half a million euros lobbying in the United States to save its reputation. The company is now struggling to find a new path after severing ties with millions of former users.

  • Canadian Police and Government Caught Pirating Movies and TV-Shows

    With several movie studios gearing up to sue thousands of ‘pirating’ Internet subscribers in Canada, the local Pirate Party decided to take a look at the downloading habits of the Canadian police and Government. As it turns out, there are plenty of downloaders to be found on the law’s side. However, unlike individual citizens it is doubtful that the guardians of the law will get in trouble for their alleged defiance.

  • Fighting Censorship, Proxies Gear Up to Unblock More Torrent Sites

    Earlier this week TorrentFreak received information to suggest that the recording industry is planning a fresh trip to the UK High Court to have even more torrent sites blocked at the ISP level. If they’re successful there will only be one torrent site from the current world top ten not censored in the region. However, news travels fast and according to the leading Pirate Bay and KAT proxy operators, preparations are already under way to circumvent the blockades.

  • BitTorrent Accounts for 35% of All Upload Traffic, VPNs are Booming

    New data published by the Canadian broadband management company Sandvine reveals that BitTorrent can be credited for one third of all North American upload traffic during peak hours. BitTorrent usage also remains strong in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The report further confirms that SSL traffic has more than doubled in a year, partly due to an increase in VPN use.

  • Grooveshark’s Future in Doubt After Settlements With Big Music

    Grooveshark’s lengthy legal battle with several of the world’s major recording labels, who accused the popular music streaming service of mass-copyright infringement, may soon come to an end. Several of the company’s (former) employees have agreed to a “consent judgment” which prohibits them from infringing the major labels’ copyrights or working with similar services in future. No settlement has been reached with the parent company yet, but the recent developments cast doubt over Grooveshark’s future.

  • Banking Privacy More Important than Copyright Enforcement, Court Rules

    In its quest to identify the owner of a file-sharing site, Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN pressured one of the largest banks in the Netherlands to hand over his or her personal details. In a decision this morning the Amsterdam Court said that while BREIN has a responsibility to enforce copyright on behalf of its members, the bank has a greater responsibility to protect its customers’ privacy.

  • IsoHunt Will Take DMCA Safe Harbor Fight to the Supreme Court

    In March, the Ninth Circuit declared that Canada-based BitTorrent search engine isoHunt is not entitled to protection under the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA due to its conduct many years ago. IsoHunt filed a petition for a rehearing before a jury, but yesterday a Ninth Circuit panel unanimously rejected it. Isohunt lawyer Ira Rothken informs TorrentFreak that the right to a jury trial is protected by the constitution and isoHunt is now in the process of requesting a Supreme Court review.

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