TorrentFreak

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  • UK ISPs Block Huge Movie Site Movie2K, Proxy Immediately Unblocks

    Internet service providers in the UK have today begun blocking one of the world’s largest streaming movie portals. In a follow up to similar actions, the MPAA obtained a High Court order which compels all major ISPs to begin blocking Movie2K, a massive site with millions of visitors each month. However, in a ridiculously fast show of defiance, one of the largest Pirate Bay proxy operators has already deployed a brand new site to beat the censorship.

  • Police Raid School Teacher for Uploading History Book for Students

    A teacher received a huge shock last week after uploading a copy of a book to his website that offers free educational resources for students. The Latvian publisher behind the work, a $4.00 history book, complained to the authorities which resulted in the teacher being raided by the police. During interrogation the teacher learned that his mistake could cost him dearly – two years in jail, forced labor, or a fine.

  • Hollywood Studios Censor Pirate Bay Documentary

    It is no secret that Hollywood is trying to take down as many pirated movies as they can, but their targeting of a Creative Commons Pirate Bay documentary is something new. Viacom, Paramount, Fox and Lionsgate have all asked Google to take down links pointing to the Pirate Bay documentary TPB-AFK. But is it a secret plot to silence the voices of the Pirate Bay’s founders, or just another screw up of automated DMCA takedowns?

  • 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.

  • Pirate Bay Domain Registrar Assists Copyright Infringement, Prosecutor Claims

    The organization responsible for Sweden’s top-level domain is facing court action after refusing to disable or seize two domains operated by The Pirate Bay. The Internet Infrastructure Foundation, the body that administers the .SE TLD and engages in projects to better the Internet, now faces a court showdown. The prosecution office is claiming that the foundation is guilty of assisting those who assist others to engage in copyright infringement.

  • Kim Dotcom Granted Supreme Court Appeal Over U.S. Evidence

    Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and his alleged co-conspirators have been thrown a lifeline in their ongoing extradition battle in New Zealand. Previously it was decided that Dotcom could not examine the mountains of evidence being withheld by U.S. authorities, but the Supreme Court has now granted an appeal, so the matter can be settled at the country’s highest court.

  • “Six Strikes” Anti-Piracy Outfit Loses Company Status, Faces Penalties

    The Center for Copyright Information, a partnership between the RIAA, MPAA and several major Internet providers, has had its company status revoked. The CCI, who are leading the “six strikes” anti-piracy scheme in the US, has violated state laws and is unable to conduct any official business anywhere in the United States. In addition the outfit faces civil penalties and risks losing its name to a third-party company.

  • Records Labels Prepare Massive ‘Pirate Site’ Domain Blocking Blitz

    In their ongoing battle against websites said to infringe music copyrights, record labels have initiated a fresh wave of actions aimed at forcing UK ISPs to carry out domain blocking. This third wave is set to be the biggest so far, affecting as many as 25 domains and including some of the world’s largest torrent sites and file-hosting search engines. Furthermore, the BPI – the entity coordinating the action – will ask courts to block US-based music streaming operation, Grooveshark.

  • Canadian Anti-Piracy Outfit Pirates Photos for its Website

    Canadian anti-piracy company Canipre has been teaming up with film studios to hunt down and sue alleged BitTorrent pirates. They want to change people’s attitudes toward piracy and make a few bucks in the process. However, it appears that the attitude change should start closer to home, as their own website blatantly uses photos that have been ripped-off from independent photographers.

  • Pirate Bay Co-Founder to Run For European Parliament

    Peter Sunde has announced he will run in the European Parliament elections next year. Sunde, the former spokesman for The Pirate Bay, will participate for the Finnish branch of the Pirate Party. Sunde has yet to sit out a prison sentence for his previous involvement with the infamous BitTorrent site but hopes to emulate the Swedish Pirate Party’s previous successes when they claimed seats for two MEPs.

  • Sweden Wants to Jail Pirate Bay User to Strengthen Anti-Piracy Enforcement

    A Swedish Pirate Bay user who was accidentally caught sharing 57 movies during a friend’s house search will face prison time if the authorities get their way. The man was previously ordered to pay a fine, but the prosecutor has now submitted the case to the Supreme Court, hoping to get the man jailed. The prosecutor’s office says a prison sentence is needed so the police can legitimately raid the homes of file-sharers.

  • France Set To Dump 3 Strikes Anti-Piracy Law But Automated Fines Will Live On

    Mired in controversy since its inception but held up as an example by entertainment companies looking to spread the model worldwide, France’s Hadopi anti-piracy law now looks set to be scrapped. A just-published government-commissioned report recommends that the graduated response system, which promised fines and disconnections for errant file-sharers, should be shelved and replaced with 60 euro per time automated fines.

  • Copyright Trolls Threaten to Call Neighbors of Accused Porn Pirates

    It is no secret that copyright trolls tend to use rather threatening language as they try to convince defendants to pay settlement fees, but the recent actions of the Prenda law reincarnation “Anti-Piracy Law Group” have reached a new low. In a letter sent to people accused of pirating pornographic material, the lawyers threaten to inform neighbors about the illegal conduct, and inspect defendants’ work computers.

  • Did Will.i.am Just Promote Dotcom’s Mega on BBC’s Top Talent Show?

    Robbie Williams blatantly advertised Kim Dotcom’s Megaupload in the video to a new track last Friday. In the Dizzee Rascal song ‘Goin Crazy’, Robbie walks around in a jacket with Megaupload splashed across the back but then, just 72 hours later, another music giant seemed like they might be pushing the same message. Last night on UK prime-time TV, on the BBC where advertising in any form is officially disallowed, Wil.i.am held his fist up to the camera adorned with gold ring made up of four letters – MEGA.

  • ISPs Protest Mass BitTorrent Piracy Lawsuits to Protect Innocent Subscribers

    Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner and Cox are appealing a district court decision ordering them to reveal the identities of 1,058 subscribers accused of pirating movies on BitTorrent. The ISPs point out that their subscribers may not be the individuals who downloaded the copyrighted files in question, and warn that the decision creates a “great potential for coercive and unjust ‘settlements’.”

  • Why Private Torrent Sites Have Strict Copyright Enforcement Rules

    Private torrent sites have a much lower profile than say, The Pirate Bay, but there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of them online, going about their business behind closed, invite-only walls. However, when it comes to providing access to content, private trackers are quite different from their public counterparts. Instead of a Pirate Bay-style free-for-all, access to pirate content is held back by site admins and only unlocked when members contribute to the health of the community.

  • FileServe Hit With $1,000,000 Movie Piracy Lawsuit

    File-hosting service FileServe has been sued by the production company behind the independent movie American Cowslip. In a lawsuit filed at a federal court in California the movie producers accuse FileServe of several copyright infringement related charges and are demanding more than a million dollars in damages.

  • Robbie Williams ‘Promotes’ Megaupload in New Dizzee Rascal Video

    Rapper Dizzee Rascal and all-round pop powerhouse Robbie Williams have unveiled the music video for their new song ‘Goin Crazy’ and for file-sharing fans there is something very interesting to report. At the beginning of the video Robbie walks into shot carrying two plastics bags and wearing a coat. Nothing too amazing there of course, but painted across the back are two rather familiar words – MEGA and UPLOAD. Is this some kind of teaser for Kim Dotcom’s Megabox?

  • ‘Worst’ File-Sharing Pirates Spend 300% More on Content Than ‘Honest’ Consumers

    Telecoms regulator Ofcom has just published a study into the state of online copyright infringement in the UK, with some very interesting conclusions. The researchers found that 10% of the country’s most prolific infringers are responsible for almost 80% of all infringements carried out online, but with a bonus. These plus an additional 10% of infringers spend 300% more than ‘honest’ consumers who don’t infringe copyright at all.

  • Pirate Bay Takes Over Distribution of Censored 3D Printable Gun

    A few days after the blueprints for the world’s first printable gun were published online, Defense Distributed has been asked by the State Department to pull them down, citing possible arms trafficking violations. The blueprints, however, are still available on The Pirate Bay and many other file-sharing sites, which adds a 3D chapter to the IP enforcement debate.The Pirate Bay says it welcomes the blueprints and has no intention of taking the files down.

  • Megaupload Asks Court to Dump The “Baseless” Criminal Case

    Megaupload has strengthened its demand to have the criminal indictment against the company thrown out by the court, thus ending the case. The United States Government told the court last week that it fears the end of the Megaupload prosecution if the judge makes the ‘wrong’ decision, and these words are now being used against it. In a new brief submitted to the Virginia District Court, Megaupload’s lawyers argue that the Government admits that it may not have a case.

  • Demonoid Resurrected? An Interview With the Admins of D2.vu

    Yesterday the torrent world lit up with news that Demonoid had somehow been resurrected under the new domain D2.vu. However, the site was quickly taken offline by its host in the U.S. who claimed that it was serving up malware. With the site now back online with a new host, TorrentFreak caught up with its admins who tell us they have no malicious intent and simply want to bring a community back to together. While there is still uncertainty, one thing is absolutely clear – they do have the old Demonoid database.

  • BitTorrent Lets Artists “Share” Behind a Paywall

    For more than a year artists have successfully teamed up with BitTorrent Inc. to promote their works to around 170 million users of the uTorrent and BitTorrent clients. Evolving this program the San-Francisco company now offers artists the option to put content behind a paywall, or require another action. There’s no DRM involved but the “walled” torrents can’t be shared freely on other sites anymore. “We expect people to do the right thing,” BitTorrent Inc. informs TorrentFreak.

  • ‘New’ Demonoid D2.vu Quickly Shutdown For Hosting Malware

    During the past few hours TorrentFreak has been absolutely overwhelmed with hundreds of emails asking about the possible resurrection of the infamous Demonoid BitTorrent tracker. After tracking down the owner of the new domain but being met with silence, we have now been informed by the site’s host that at the very least the site was hosting some kind of malware. The site has now been suspended, pending full shutdown.

  • U.S. Govt. Attack on Megaupload Bears Hallmarks of ‘Digital Gitmo’

    Following the release of their white paper earlier today, Megaupload lawyer Robert Amsterdam considers the current political situation in the United States, one in which the interests of powerful corporations are deemed to be of greater importance than the rights of individuals. The U.S. government’s attack on Megaupload bears all the hallmarks of a “Digital Gitmo”, Amsterdam argues, one which shares an absence of rule of law with its physical, Cuba-based namesake.

  • Megaupload Launches Frontal Attack on White House Corruption

    Megaupload’s legal team are not restricting their fight with the U.S. Government only to the courts. Today they published a detailed white paper accusing the White House of selling out to corporate interests, particularly Hollywood. “The message is clear. The White House is for sale. More and more of our rights are eroding away to protect the interests of large corporations and their billionaire shareholders,” Dotcom summarizes.

  • Federal Judge Fires Phasers, Photons at Prenda for $80k Damages

    A month ago a Los Angeles courtroom played host to some of the most stunning and incredible action ever seen in a copyright case. Seat swaps, judges enraged, lawyers silenced, and all within 12 minutes. Since then, many have keenly anticipated the outcome of the hearing and yesterday Judge Wright delivered an order worth waiting for.

  • uTorrent and BitTorrent Reject “High Risk” VPN Ads

    As BitTorrent Inc. convinces the world that they offer a great distribution platform, they’re also going the extra mile to state that it doesn’t pair well with a VPN or proxy advertiser. The company behind the popular file-sharing client uTorrent is rejecting ads from VPN provider TorGuard, stating that the service is considered “high risk”. In a rather ironic plot twist, the VPN provider would be welcomed as long as it changes its name and logo, and remove all references to “BitTorrent,” “torrent” and uTorrent from its website.

  • Busting World’s Biggest Movie Pirates Made Piracy Worse

    Just under two years ago authorities in the United States busted one of the most important movie piracy release groups on the planet. In recent months its members have been handed some of the harshest copyright-related sentences on record but immediately after the raids something interesting happened. Instead of running for cover, pirates regrouped and the piracy situation actually got worse.

  • At Least 8% of All Pirate Bay Traffic Now Provided By Proxy Services

    As anti-piracy activity and subsequent court rulings attempt to cut off users from The Pirate Bay, those affected by the blockades are taking the setback in their stride. There are hundreds of proxy-type services facilitating access to the supposedly blocked site and have become so popular that according to the operators of The Pirate Bay they’re currently providing at least 8% of the site’s traffic.

  • U.S. Government Fears End of Megaupload Case

    The U.S. Government has just submitted its objections to Megaupload’s motion to dismiss the case against the company. Megaupload’s lawyers have pointed out that the Department of Justice is trying to change the law to legitimize the destruction of Megaupload. However, the Government refutes this assertion and asks the court to deny Megaupload’s motion, fearing that otherwise the entire case may fall apart.

  • MPAA Lawyer’s Computer Account Used in Pirate Bay Founder Hacking Case

    It’s been revealed that one of the computer accounts used regularly by the alleged hackers in the ongoing Gottfrid Svartholm case belonged to Monique Wadsted, a lawyer who represented the entertainment companies in the original Pirate Bay trial. Accounts including Wadsted’s were allegedly manipulated to gain deeper access to IT systems. In the meantime, suspects say they are reluctant to speak for fear of Hells Angels reprisals.

  • Netflix Says It’s ‘Killing’ BitTorrent Traffic

    Video streaming giant Netflix believes that making content available is the best way to beat online piracy, and the company has data to back this up. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos reveals that ISPs are noticing a drop in BitTorrent traffic every time they launch in a new territory. “The best way to combat piracy isn’t legislatively or criminally but by giving good options,” Sarandos says.

  • Pirate Bay and Antigua Explore Launch of Authorized “Pirate Site”

    The Government of Antigua will soon start accepting bids for their WTO authorized pirate site, to punish the United States for refusing to lift a trade blockade. The new service will offer the public access to pirated movies, music and software without paying U.S. copyright holders. A source close to the Antigua Government has suggested The Pirate Bay as an excellent partner, and the world’s largest file-sharing site says it would love to get involved.

  • U.S. Ambassador: Internet Piracy and Illegal Immigration are Both a ‘Compliment’

    U.S. Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey L. Bleich is back once again with a new Internet piracy missive. The long-time friend of Barack Obama caused controversy by getting involved in the Game of Thrones download debate last month, but now believes that he hasn’t got involved enough. Quoting the earlier words of HBO, Bleich says that if online piracy is a compliment to Game of Thrones, then the same holds true for illegal immigration or someone hitting on your partner.

  • Alleged BitTorrent Pirate Sued Three Times For The Same Download

    A Comcast subscriber from Washington State has been sued in three different lawsuits for downloading the animated kids movie Zambezia. In other words, the same IP-address is being sued thrice for the same alleged offense. Are the makers of the film trying to beat the odds by filing multiple cases for the same offense, or is it just another example of shameful sloppiness?

  • Anti-Piracy Group Demands Blocks of KickAss, isoHunt, 1337x and H33T

    In a continuation of the website blocking phenomenon, an anti-piracy group fresh to the action has applied to have several major torrent sites blocked at the ISP level in Greece. AEPI, the Greek Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property, has filed at court to have KickAssTorrents, isoHunt, 1337x and H33T all rendered inaccessible to subscribers. Sources inform TorrentFreak that The Pirate Bay will also be targeted later this month.

  • As BitCoins Roll In, The Pirate Bay Adds Support For LiteCoin Donations

    Last week The Pirate Bay began accepting BitCoin donations and it’s been a successful move so far. In just seven days the site has received 174 donations via BitCoin with a dollar value of $2,063. Keep that up for a year and BitCoin exchange rates aside, the site could be adding around $107,000 to its coffers. Adding to the options to donate anonymously, The Pirate Bay is now supporting a second cypto-currency called LiteCoin.

  • Music Rights Group Sues ISPs Over “Pirate Tax”

    Belgian music rights group SABAM is continuing its efforts to make Internet providers responsible for copyright-infringing material passing through their networks . This week the group sued three Internet providers alongside demands for a 3.4 percent cut of all subscriber fees. SABAM claims it is entitled to this compensation based on existing copyright law, but the Internet providers disagree.

  • Pirate Site Blocking Legislation Approved By Norwegian Parliament

    Norway has moved an important – some say unstoppable – step towards legislative change that will enable the aggressive tackling of online copyright infringement. Proposed amendments to the Copyright Act, which will make it easier for rightsholders to monitor file-sharers and have sites such as The Pirate Bay blocked at the ISP level, received broad support in parliament this week and look almost certain to be passed into law.

  • The Pirate Bay Moves to .SX as Prosecutor Files Motion to Seize Domains

    Swedish authorities have filed a motion at the District Court of Stockholm on behalf of the entertainment industries, demanding the seizure of two Pirate Bay domain names. In addition to the Swedish-based .se domain the motion also includes the new Icelandic .is TLD. In a rapid response, The Pirate Bay has just switched to a fresh domain, ThePirateBay.sx, registered in the northeastern Caribbean island of Sint Maarten.

  • Swedish Authorities Target Pirate Bay Again, Police Question Founder in Prison

    Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm was visited in prison last week by police questioning him as part of a new criminal investigation into The Pirate Bay. The case is said to involve several publishing houses as well as Swedish anti-piracy group Antipiratbyrån. According to information received by TorrentFreak the authorities are focusing on events from 2011 and 2012, when Gottfrid was no longer working on the BitTorrent site.

  • Pirate Bay Founder on Trial Next Month Facing Societal Damage Claims

    After being charged with instances of hacking earlier this month, Gottfrid Svartholm will now go on trial in May. The Pirate Bay co-founder denies the charges and says that evidence found on his computer was placed there remotely via the Internet. In the meantime Gottfrid’s mother Kristina is questioning why authorities are placing so much emphasis on the effect the claimed hacking has had on allegedly vulnerable people.

  • Game Pirates Whine About Piracy in Game Dev Simulator

    The indie game makers of Greenheart Games have just pulled the ultimate prank on game pirates. When they released their Game Dev Tycoon yesterday, they also uploaded a “cracked” copy of the simulator on a well-known BitTorrent site. Soon after thousands of people downloaded the cracked copy, not knowing that it was modified to present them with a rather ironic piracy challenge.

  • Pirates Debut Super-Smooth Video Torrents

    As bandwidth gets more plentiful, the thirst for better quality video increases alongside. By now most people are aware that screen resolutions are important in terms of image definition, but there are important issues surrounding how that pixel density is presented as a moving image. Frame rates help to make a video nice and smooth and a recent development has the seen some of the smoothest video around hitting BitTorrent networks.

  • Pirate Party Enters Iceland’s National Parliament After Historic Election Win

    The Pirate Party in Iceland seem to have booked a major victory in Iceland’s parliamentary election today, scoring 5.1% of the total vote. It’s a truly remarkable achievement for a party that’s only a few months old, and also the first time that a Pirate party anywhere in the world has been democratically chosen in a national parliament. One of the main goals of the Pirates will be to fight increased censorship and protect freedom of speech.

  • PayPal Bans BitTorrent VPN / Proxy Service

    After banning several of the largest file-hosting sites and Usenet providers, PayPal is now taking aim at a VPN/proxy service. The payment processor has just cut off the BitTorrent proxy provider GT Guard and frozen the company’s funds. In an email PayPal’s Brand Risk Management department explains that GT Guard’s affiliation with BitTorrent is the reason for the drastic actions.

  • MPAA Executive Tampered With IFPI Evidence in Internet Piracy Case

    Earlier this month Finland’s largest ever Internet piracy case ended with four men being found guilty of copyright infringement and two being exonerated. The case involved a so-called ‘topsite’ called Angel Falls and had an interesting twist. During the trial it was revealed that evidence gathered by a local anti-piracy group and the IFPI was also handed to a “senior MPAA executive” who tampered with the evidence before handing it to the police.

  • Do “Strikes” Programs Help to Reduce Piracy?

    Several countries including the US and France have implemented so-called “strikes” systems to warn and punish P2P file-sharers. The goal of these programs is to reduce piracy, but do they have any effect on people’s download habits? Music group IFPI believes so, and has some numbers to back up its claims. The group further notes that piracy through ripping software and cyberlockers continues to rise.

  • US Ambassador Pleads: Stop Pirating Game of Thrones, It’s Stealing

    Just when the Game of Thrones file-sharing controversy had begun settling into the background, the most senior figure yet has weighed in on the debate. Marking UN World Book and Copyright Day and citing TorrentFreak stats to on how many times the show has been downloaded, the U.S. Ambassador to Australia has pleaded with Aussies to stop making excuses and “do the right thing” by paying for Game of Thrones.

  • Anonymous Hollywood Exec Ignites BitTorrent Inc Piracy Controversy

    Describing entirely legitimate, tax-paying technology pioneers as “the devil” is not something you hear happening every day, especially at the highest levels of business. However, that’s how a Hollywood studio exec has labeled BitTorrent Inc, the software and solutions company utilizing the world’s most efficient data shifting protocol. While the company is understandably annoyed, one has to question just how hard it’s going to be to change perceptions about what BitTorrent Inc. is all about.

  • Pirate Bay Finds Safe Haven in Iceland, Switches to .IS Domain

    After The Pirate Bay’s new Greenland-based domains were suspended earlier this month, the world’s largest file-sharing site has found a safe haven in Iceland. From now on TPB can be reached via ThePirateBay.is without the imminent threat of another domain suspension. The Icelandic registry informs TorrentFreak that they will not take action against the domain unless a court order requires them to do so.

  • McAfee Patents Technology to Detect and Block Pirated Content

    Security software company McAfee has patented a new technology that aims to prevent the public from accessing pirated movies and music online. The system, which expands the SiteAdvisor tool, can detect and block pirated material from any website and present users with authorized and legal alternatives. McAfee says the technology will help steer consumers to authorized services and thereby prevent costly lawsuits.

  • Police Flex Muscles Again, Arrest Admin of Sweden’s #2 BitTorrent Site

    After being targeted by a police raid on a web host previously owned by Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm, Sweden’s #2 torrent site took just three weeks to come back online. Taunting the authorities with their return, Tankafetast rented cinemas and launched a clothing range but for the police there was clearly unfinished business. An admin of the site has now been arrested and questioned. The site, however, remains fully operational.

  • BitTorrent’s Secure Dropbox Alternative Goes Public

    BitTorrent Inc. has opened up its Sync app to the public today. The new application is free of charge and allows people to securely sync folders to multiple devices using the BitTorrent protocol. Complete control over the storage location of the files and the absence of limits is what sets BitTorrent’s solution apart from traditional cloud based synchronization services.

  • Prolific BitTorrent Uploader Faces Jail Time in Sweden

    The former moderator of a now-defunct torrent site has just earned the dubious honor of becoming the most prolific BitTorrent uploader ever to be charged by authorities. The man, who was arrested in 2011, is said to have uploaded around 500 movies and TV shows to a private BitTorrent tracker over a two-and-a-half year period. The quantity of uploads is almost ten times more than the previous record in a case of its type, leading the prosecutor to warn of a looming jail sentence.

  • The Pirate Bay Now Accepts Bitcoin Donations

    The Pirate Bay has begun accepting contributions from the public, allowing users to donate exclusively via the P2P crypto-currency Bitcoin. One of the advantages for the operators of the infamous BitTorrent site is that Bitcoin funds can’t easily be seized or traced back to a person. The downside, on the other hand, is that everything that’s sent to a Bitcoin address is public, so the entire world can see how many virtual coins are rolling in.

  • CISPA Anyone? Exposing Pirates at The U.S. Government

    Last week the privacy invasive CISPA bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives, taking it one step closer to becoming law. The proposed bill allows warrant-less spying by Internet companies on behalf of Government agencies. Turning the tables, TorrentFreak decided to “spy” on download and browsing habits at the House and other prominent Government institutions, using publicly available data.

  • The Pirate Bay’s Gottfrid Learns of Hacking Charges via TV News

    Last week Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm was charged with hacking into companies and a bank. While it’s no surprise that the news traveled quickly through the media, one might have expected that Gottfrid himself would be one of the first to hear the news. But Gottfrid’s mother Kristina informs TorrentFreak that her son learned of the charges by watching TV news in his cell. Even today he still hasn’t seen a copy of the lawsuit.

  • Anti-Piracy Chief Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

    Following an undercover police investigation, the Vice President of Lithuanian Anti-Piracy Association LANVA has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges. Vytas Simanavicius, known for his efforts to curb online piracy in the Baltic country, faces up to eight years in prison. Because of the looming incarceration, his role as an expert witness in a Microsoft court case against a local BitTorrent site has become uncertain.

  • File-Sharers Sued For Wrong Movie Title, Producer Outraged

    A horror film producer has slammed a copyright troll lawsuit which targets alleged file-sharers said to have downloaded his movie. The lawsuit, which takes aim at Internet account holders in the hope they’ll pay multi-thousand dollar settlements, has a serious error. It names completely the wrong movie, meaning that an innocent producer – who describes the action as “nonsense” – has been sucked into a controversy he has nothing to do with.

  • Fox Censors Cory Doctorow’s “Homeland” Novel From Google

    Copyfighter, journalist, sci-fi writer and Boing-Boing editor Cory Doctorow has fallen victim to the almighty content empire of Rupert Murdoch. In an attempt to remove access to infringing copies of the TV-show Homeland, Fox has ordered Google to take down links to Doctorow’s latest novel of the same title. Adding to the controversy, Doctorow’s own publisher has also sent DMCA notices for the Creative Commons licensed book.

  • U.S. Flip-flopping Proves Us Right, Megaupload Tells Court

    In a filing just submitted to a U.S. federal court Megaupload is using the Government’s own words against it, hoping to get the case against it dismissed. Megaupload points out that the Department of Justice is trying to change the law to legitimize the destruction of Megaupload. The DoJ wants to amend the law so that it’s possible to serve foreign defendants, while it previously argued in court that the authorities didn’t require such power.

  • Rapidgator and ISPs Appeal Domain Name Blockade and Seizure

    Earlier this week in a copyright infringement crackdown initiated by the Italian authorities more than two dozen file-sharing domains were placed on ISP blocklists. One of those domains was Rapidgator, one of the world’s leading cyberlocker sites. Rather than simply rolling over, Rapidgator is now fighting back with with the assistance of an Italian lawyer experienced in handling Internet-related litigation. ISPs are also reportedly filing appeals.

  • “Killer Joe” Sues VPN-Using BitTorrent Pirates

    With a budget of $10 million and under $2 million in domestic grosses, the movie “Killer Joe” didn’t provide the box office successes its makers had hoped for. To make up for disappointing sales, movie studio “Killer Joe Nevada” is now turning to alleged BitTorrent users. The company sued a few dozen people at a federal court in Delaware this week, and aside from subscribers of residential ISPs their list of defendants also includes VPN users.

  • isoHunt Verdict Endangers Innovation, Google Tells Court

    Last month BitTorrent site isoHunt lost its appeal against the MPAA and since then several rightsholders have used this verdict to their advantage in other copyright infringement cases. Google has also been targeted with the ruling in its case against Viacom, and has now asked the court to change its opinion. The Internet giant explains that the verdict against the BitTorrent site is overly broad and endangers the existence of innovative businesses.

  • Interpol Probe Targets Funds of Major File-Hosting Services

    Citing an Interpol investigation underway with the cooperation of Mastercard and Visa, Czech-based payment processor iKoruna discontinued service to file-hosting sites this week. The target of the investigation was not announced but transaction information was handed over to Interpol and all remaining funds have been frozen. The news comes soon after an Italian prosecutor announced a major crackdown on file-hosting sites, including some iKoruna clients.

  • Pirate Bay Proxy Now Included in Secret ISP Blocklist

    In the UK a range of sites are now blocked including The Pirate Bay, KickassTorrents, H33T and Fenopy. But despite very public High Court orders the true extent of the censorship is unknown as the actual URL blocking list is being kept out of the public eye. However, through an unexpected turn of events last week, TorrentFreak discovered that at least one independent domain not operated by any of the sites in question is also being censored.

  • Pirate Bay Founder Charged With Hacking Companies and a Bank

    A Swedish prosecutor has announced new hacking related charges against Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm. Together with three others he is suspected of hacking several companies including a bank, from where the defendants allegedly attempted to transfer money. The new changes will most likely mean that Svartholm will remain in prison when his Pirate Bay sentence concludes next month.

  • Large Piracy ‘Topsite’ Trial Ends in Suspended Sentences, ‘Disappointing’ Damages

    Finland’s largest ever Internet piracy case has come to an end with six men standing trial for running a so-called ‘topsite’. Two were cleared by the court but four others were found guilty of distributing movies, music, TV shows, software and other media. They received suspended jail sentences of up to six months but rightsholders are disappointed after their six million euro damages claim – 900,000 euros from Microsoft alone – was reduced to just 45,000 euros.

  • Obsessed With Google, Copyright Holders Ignore The Actual Pirated Content

    When it comes to online piracy, copyright holders have an obsession with Google. Every month the search engine is asked to take down links to millions of URLs to help stop the unauthorized distribution of their work. Strangely enough, many copyright holders fail to target the root of the problem as they don’t make the effort to send takedown requests to the originating websites.

  • Massive BitTorrent and Cyberlocker Domain Crackdown Underway (Updated)

    In what is being described as the biggest domain crackdown since US Homeland Security seized more than 70 domains in 2010, Italy has targeted more than two dozen BitTorrent, cyberlocker and other file-sharing sites. The Public Prosecutor of Rome has ordered the blocking of Rapidgator, Uploaded, BitShare, NowVideo, VideoPremium and many others, warning that he will progress the action internationally in order to properly seize their domains.

  • BitTorrent Tracker Loses the Plot With Crazy Seeding Rules

    All torrent sites rely on seeders, people who effectively donate their upstream bandwidth to provide content for others. Some go the extra mile and use a seedbox, a server-based piece of kit that pumps content into torrent swarms enabling faster downloads for everyone. While this is seen as a good thing by the majority, a private tracker specializing in high definition content has just introduced a set of the toughest and most baffling seedbox rules ever to grace the torrent scene.

  • Protecting BitTorrent Users from VPN Disconnects

    Many privacy concerned BitTorrent users are using VPN services to hide their IP-addresses from the rest of the Internet. This works well, until the VPN disconnects. Luckily there are some tips and tricks that can prevent one’s IP-address from being broadcasted over the Internet when this happens. Vuze is the only client that has this functionality built in, but for others there are alternatives available.

  • Pirate Party Crowd-Sources File-Sharing Fine Settlements

    Anyone obtaining and sharing files on the Internet should be aware of the risk that someone, somewhere, might consider their behavior to constitute a breach of their rights. If people are eventually held to account, painful monetary fines can be the outcome. However, a new initiative by the youth division of the Swedish Pirate Party aims to soften the blow for those unlucky enough to get caught by paying their copyright infringement fines.

  • North Korea Pirates Spy Tools and Porn on BitTorrent

    With only a few hundred IP-addresses North Korea’s Internet presence is rather limited. Only a choice few are able to connect to the World Wide Web and access all the free information that comes with it. TorrentFreak decided to take a deeper look at the BitTorrent downloads that can be traced back to North Korean IP-addresses and the results are intriguing, yet expected.

  • Police Handcuffed Then Attacked Me, Says Busted Torrent Site Owner

    A torrent site owner who was arrested in 2008 but later found “not guilty” in court has been targeted again. The man, who runs Latvia’s biggest torrent site, says that following the filing of a new copyright case the country’s Economic Police turned up at his house and handcuffed him. The Latvian says he was subsequently beaten by three policemen, an attack which resulted in concussion. His domain has also been seized.

  • Google Relaxes DMCA Takedown Restrictions, Eyes Abuse

    Following requests from some copyright holders, search giant Google has relaxed its DMCA restrictions allowing for more takedown notices to be processed. As a result the number of URLs being removed from Google continues to shoot up, surpassing the record-breaking 4.4 million mark this week. Both Google and the RIAA are happy with the progress being made but the former says it will keep a close eye on abusive practices.

  • IMAGiNE Piracy Group Founder Jailed For 23 Months

    Another member of the movie piracy release group IMAGiNE has been sentenced to prison. Javier E. Ferrer, known online as bigdaddykane, admitted to camming pre-release movies such as Captain America: The First Avenger and Fright Night, and being involved in the operations of UnleashTheNet, a private torrent site run by IMAGiNE. He was ordered to serve 23 months in a federal prison and pay compensation to the MPAA.

  • New Pirate Bay Greenland Domains (About to be) Seized

    In anticipation of having their Swedish domain name seized, this week the crew of The Pirate Bay took evasive action. In the early hours of Tuesday morning they switched to two Greenland-based domains, but already the plan is starting to unravel. The telecoms company in charge of the .GL TLD says it will now block the domains after deciding they will be used illegally.

  • Kim Dotcom Beating Kim Jong Un, Takes 3rd in Current Time 100 Voting

    Somewhat predictably this year’s Time 100 list features the usual political and technological giants such as Barack Obama and Google co-founder Sergey Brin. However, in a possible first, two giants with a shared name are currently dueling away in the top ten. While North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is in a healthy but dictatorial eighth place, Mega.co.nz’s Kim Dotcom is setting the pace for Internet freedom in third.

  • Richard O’Dwyer to Return With New Movie/TV Streaming Portal

    After months of uncertainty, last December former TVShack owner Richard O’Dwyer averted his looming extradition from the UK on criminal copyright infringement charges by cutting a deal with the U.S. Government which allowed him to carry on with his life. Freed from extradition worries O’Dwyer swiftly finished his dissertation, and he is now working on the launch of a new video streaming portal called Filmhub.

  • Four Alleged Movie Pirates Set to Cover Entire Horror Movie Budget

    No one really knows how much money they generate but it’s generally acknowledged that file-sharing settlements can be a lucrative business. However, while it has to be acknowledged that movie makers have costs to cover following the creation of their product, a case brought by a horror film company is on track to become especially lucrative. If things go to plan, just four alleged file-sharers will cover the costs of making an entire movie.

  • The Pirate Bay Moves to .GL Domain in Anticipation of Domain Seizure

    The Pirate Bay has received indications that the Swedish authorities might soon attempt to seize the site’s .se domain. In anticipation of this move, today the world’s largest file-sharing site switched to Greenland’s .gl domain. The move comes with a set of new IP-addresses which raises the possibility that existing ISP blockades might be bypassed, at least temporarily.

  • Cox Targets Pirates With “10+ Strikes” Program

    Preferring to handle file-sharing in its own way, Cox was one of the few large ISPs that refused to take part in the United States’ “six-strikes” scheme. Cox operates its own 10+ strikes program featuring warnings and temporary Internet restrictions in the early stages. The Internet provider stops short of detailing the end-game but if earlier statements are to believed, repeat infringers are likely to have their accounts terminated.

  • File-Sharers Will Not Be Held Liable For Piracy, Russia Says

    As Russia tries to find a balanced solution to the thorny issue of Internet piracy, the head of a government department responsible for communications and information technology says that attacking Internet users is not the solution. Speaking at the launch of a nationwide campaign to promote legal eBook purchases, Vladimir Grigoryev said that the government has no intention of holding downloaders liable or having them sent to court.

  • Priests Watch DVD Screeners While Pirates Download Filth in the Vatican

    While Thou Shalt Not Steal is one of the best known ten commandments, there is no directive ordering Thou Shalt Not Copy. This glaring loophole in God’s law, which runs contrary to established entertainment industry doctrine, apparently allows priests to watch pirated Oscar review copies of major movies without concern. Meanwhile, over in the Vatican, pirates are having the time of their lives downloading some quite eye-watering media.

  • Joe Biden Pushed For “Six Strikes” Anti-Piracy Plan, IFPI Says

    IFPI wants governments worldwide to facilitate plans to tackle online piracy, whether voluntary or not. The music group’s CEO Frances Moore mentions the U.S. six-strikes program as a prime example. On paper the agreement between copyright holders and ISPs was voluntary, but Moore reveals that Vice President Joe Biden was one of the driving forces behind it.

  • “I’m Back, Bitches”: Busted NinjaVideo Founder Freed From Prison

    After being sent to prison early 2012 for running NinjaVideo, the first site to fall victim to the U.S. Government’s ‘Operation in Our Sites’, founder Hana ‘Phara’ Beshara is now back in society. Fresh from peeling potatoes for 12 cents an hour and learning how to knit, the self-styled ‘queen’ of Ninja is living at a halfway house and thinking about how she’s going to pay $210,000 damages to the MPAA. Maybe an MTV documentary and reality shows hold the key…

  • IsoHunt Wants Jury to Rule on Free Speech Issues in MPAA Case

    Last month BitTorrent site isoHunt lost its appeal against the MPAA, meaning that the site has to continue filtering movie and TV related terms from its search engine. However, isoHunt founder Gary Fung is not giving up just yet and has asked for a jury to decide on the case. In a petition filed this week isoHunt argues that, among other things, the Ninth Circuit decision chills innovation and threatens free speech online.

  • YouTube’s Deal With Universal Blocks DMCA Counter Notices

    When content is removed from the Internet following a DMCA complaint filed by a rightsholder the user who uploaded the content gets a chance to file a counter-claim. If successful this should reinstate the content but on YouTube things now appear to be working somewhat differently. It transpires that YouTube has a special deal with Universal which sees content taken down at the record label’s request and DMCA counter notices blocked with no chance of appeal.

  • “Why I Pulled Out of The Pirate Bay Trial,” An Artist’s Perspective

    When the lawsuit against the Pirate Bay began, hip-hop artist Max Peezay found out that his album was being used by the IFPI as evidence to claim damages from the founders. Peezay, however, wanted nothing to do with the case and never gave the record labels permission to use his work. In an interview released today the artist looks back on the events and describes how he eventually managed to disconnect from the lawsuit, but not without consequence.

  • Movie Studios Want Google to Take Down Their Own Takedown Request

    In a comical display of meta-censorship several copyright holders including 20th Century Fox and NBC Universal have sent Google takedown requests asking the search engine to take down links to takedown request they themselves sent. Google refused to comply with the movie studios requests and the “infringing” DMCA notices remain online. Meanwhile, the number of takedown notices received by Google is nearing 20 million per month.

  • Swedish Police Promise More Resources to Catch File-Sharers

    A report from Sweden’s National Police Board proposes changes to the country’s handling of copyright infringement and file-sharing offenses. The proposals have developed from meetings with entertainment company rightsholders and include the creation of a single team focusing on intellectual property crimes, plus more accessible forensic resources in order to successfully prosecute cases.

  • I’ll Download Game of Thrones from The Pirate Bay, Iron Sky Director Tells HBO

    As Game of Thrones smashes download records this week, an extra act of sharing will soon come from a most unusual source. Sick and tired of the poor quality offered by HBO’s official streaming service, the director of movie Iron Sky says he’s going to take retaliatory action. Complaining about their delivery the Finnish director told HBO that their service “sucks” so in future he’ll download the show from The Pirate Bay.

  • Pirate Bay Proxy Owner’s Bank Account Seized by Anti-Piracy Group

    Following a request from Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN, a Dutch bailiff has seized the bank account of a Pirate Bay proxy operator. The owner of the popular proxy site Kuiken.co has been involved in a legal battle with BREIN over the past months, who demand that he shuts down his website. The anti-piracy group seized the funds after the proxy owner failed to pay the penalties that were set out in two preliminary injunctions.

  • Verizon Asked to Share “Six Strikes” Alerts for BitTorrent Lawsuit

    It’s just a few weeks since the six-strikes copyright alert system was activated in the U.S. and already it’s being utilized in a civil action against an alleged BitTorrent pirate. To prepare for a trial against a Verizon subscriber, adult movie studio Malibu Media has subpoenaed the user’s ISP to hand over copies of DMCA and six-strikes notices issued to far. In addition, the copyright holder also wants to know how much bandwidth the subscriber uses each month, and what pay-per-view programs were watched .

  • FACT Turn Up at Torrent Site Owner’s House Demanding Domain Names

    A UK-based anti-piracy group is continuing to crack down on any sites considered to be engaging in copyright infringement. Last week representatives of The Federation Against Copyright Theft personally turned up at the home of a torrent site owner who was told to cease and desist, or else. Hand over your domains, FACT explained, and things should turn out OK.

  • Game of Thrones Pirates Break BitTorrent Swarm Record

    With a million downloads on BitTorrent in less than a day, the season premiere of Game of Thrones is breaking records on multiple fronts. Never before has there been a torrent with so many people sharing a file at the same time, more than 160,000 simultaneous peers. Data gathered by TorrentFreak further shows that Australia has the highest piracy rate of the popular download destinations, while London tops the list of pirate cities.

  • The Pirate Bay Moves Servers to The United States, F*ck Yeah…

    After its failed experiment in North Korea, The Pirate Bay has set course to the land of the free, the United States of America. The infamous BitTorrent site has renamed itself to The Freedom Bay and is promising to censor all torrents uploaded by hostile nations. With help from the U.S. Government the site is now able to withstand any retaliatory nuclear attacks Kim Jong Un may have planned.

  • HBO: Game of Thrones Piracy is a Compliment, Doesn’t Hurt Sales

    Last month the director of Game of Thrones admitted something that his paymasters had HBO might have avoided. Huge online piracy doesn’t hurt the show, he said, and in fact might create benefits by generating cultural buzz. Well check the date if you like folks but the following is absolutely genuine. HBO programming president Michael Lombardo has just announced that not only is the huge piracy a compliment, but the phenomenon hasn’t hurt DVD sales at all.

  • The Life and Times of a TV Show Piracy Release Group

    They’re some of the most popular torrents around, but how do they get on the Internet and who puts them there? Today TorrentFreak catches up with the founder of a TV show release group responsible for releasing hundreds of TV shows online. Jaded by the super-organized and hard to reach ‘Scene’ he’s now back on home P2P territory, encouraging everyone to share while reminding people to support the creators of this great entertainment format.

  • The Pirate Bay Becomes #1 File-Sharing Site as Cyberlockers Collapse

    The Pirate Bay is now the most-visited file-sharing site on the Internet, taking over the lead from prominent one-click hosting sites such as 4Shared and Mediafire. After a spectacular rise in the early years of this decade cyberlockers are quickly losing ground, while BitTorrent sites continue to grow. This shift in balance can be attributed to the Megaupload shutdown, and the changes in the cyberlocker market that followed.

  • BitFetch Debuts BitCoin-Powered Anonymous BitTorrent Downloads

    A new privacy-conscious file-sharing service is aiming to bring the power of BitCoin and BitTorrent together in one neat package, with some added extras. Offering high-speed remote transfers, BitFetch keeps BitTorrent users anonymous and helps them cut through ISP-imposed throttling measures with secure HTTPs downloads. Usually powered by BitCoin, there’s a free trial for all TorrentFreak readers today.

  • MPAA: “Red Flags” Make Hotfile Liable for Pirate Users

    The MPAA and file-hosting service Hotfile are gearing up for their trial in a U.S. court later this year. This week the movie studios told the court that Hotfile does not qualify for safe harbor protection as it knew about the “massive infringing use” of its service, citing last week’s verdict against BitTorrent site isoHunt. The file-hosting site disputes the allegations and says that there’s no evidence of any wrongdoing on their part.

  • KickassTorrents Circumvents Censors With New Ka.tt Domain

    In a surprise move the popular BitTorrent site KickassTorrents moved to a new domain today. The immediate effect of the switch is that after the ISP blockade last week, some UK users are once again able to access the site. This is the second domain change in two years for the infamous torrent site. Previously, KickassTorrents traded its .com domain to prevent it from being seized by U.S. authorities.

  • ‘Pirate’ Site Ad Transparency Report Loses Credibility

    The third edition of the Annenberg Innovation Lab’s Ad Transparency Report is now unofficially doing the rounds. Google, Quantcast and Open X are praised for making “strong moves” to block sites that receive a lot of DMCA notices but the government and some major companies are in for criticism for failing to place their ads more carefully. This week’s “Piracy is Progress” Times Square campaign is also mentioned in a negative light.

  • Anti-Piracy Group Shuts Down Pirated Pirate Bay

    The most recent dispute between The Pirate Bay and a Finnish anti-piracy group appears to be over. CIAPC, known locally as TTVK, lifted the code of The Pirate Bay’s home page in order to promote their own anti-piracy message but were called out over their double standards. Now, in an unusual move the anti-piracy group has withdrawn the campaign, even though they say it was extremely successful. Attention has now shifted to claims by TTVK that they achieved an 81% reduction in The Pirate Bay’s traffic.

  • Google Search Data Shows Torrent Site Censorship Reaction

    Earlier this month the major labels of the UK recording industry succeeded in having three major torrent sites blocked at the ISP level. KickassTorrents, H33T and Fenopy all disappeared from the screens of users not using a VPN or proxy, yielding some interesting results on the way. Data provided by Google suggests that not only did the blocks encourage a large fresh interest in other torrent sites and BitTorrent in general, official media outlets received more interest too.

  • “Piracy Is Progress” Billboard on Times Square Divides Artists

    The band Ghost Beach is running a controversial billboard campaign in New York’s Times Square. With slogans such as “Piracy is Progress” and “Piracy is Robbery” they are encouraging other artists to speak their mind about copyright infringement. The band itself told TorrentFreak that it is ultimately against piracy, but that the problem can only be tackled when consumers have affordable and convenient alternatives. For now, they want the public to choose whether they want to pay for their latest album, or download it for free.

  • ISPs Cannot Be Forced To Store Data on File-Sharers, Court Rules

    Most Internet service providers log information about their users, such as when they use the service and the IP addresses they were allocated at the time. This information is useful for ISPs’ housekeeping but it’s also an invaluable resource for copyright trolls looking to track down file-sharers. Can an ISP be forced to collect and retain such data? In a disappointment to rightsholders, a higher regional court in Germany has clarified that ISPs cannot.

  • BitTorrent ‘s Bram Cohen Patents Revolutionary Live Streaming Protocol

    Hoping to revolutionize live broadcasting on the Internet, Bram Cohen has filed a patent application for the new BitTorrent Live streaming protocol. BitTorrent’s inventor has worked on the new technology for several years and believes his new protocol can be world-changing. “We plan to shape the future of live broadcasts and want to work with broadcasters to accomplish that,” Cohen says.

  • NBC Universal Warns File-Sharers of Criminal Prosecution

    NBC Universal is one of the copyright holders involved in the “six strikes” copyright alert system but the warnings it sends out to subscribers of non-participating ISPs stand in stark contrast to the educational approach of the program. A threatening email warns the alleged file-sharers that they risk substantial monetary damages, criminal prosecution and Internet disconnections.

  • New Zealand Gave Kim Dotcom Residency, Knowing He Was Wanted By FBI

    In 2010, New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service were carrying out special checks on Kim Dotcom as part of his application to become an NZ resident. They turned up something unexpected. The FBI were investigating the Megaupload founder as part of a huge alleged criminal conspiracy. But mysteriously Dotcom was welcomed into New Zealand with open arms, something he now fears was a trap to make him more accessible to the United States.

  • Free Access To Dozens of Anonymous VPNs Via New University Project

    As citizens around the world endure Internet censorship of all types, a Japanese university has stepped in to level the playing field. Whether you’re in Iran or China and blocked from YouTube, Twitter or Facebook, or in the UK desperate to get back on The Pirate Bay, KAT or H33T, a new tool from researchers gives instant access to dozens of VPN services. Not only is the system simple to use, but it’s also completely free.

  • KickassTorrents Proxies Blossom Following UK Blockades

    This week several of the largest Internet providers in the UK started to block KickassTorrents, Fenopy and H33T, but this doesn’t mean that the sites have become entirely inaccessible. As a direct result of the blockades several proxies for the banned sites are now being overloaded with traffic..

  • MPAA: BitTorrent is the Best Way to Pirate Movies and TV-Shows

    The MPAA, RIAA and the Internet providers participating in the “six strikes” anti-piracy scheme have informed the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee about their plans. The MPAA’s Marianne Grant gave a detailed overview explaining how they gather evidence against illegal file-sharers. She further explained that the MPAA is particularly interested in tracking BitTorrent since it’s the best way for P2P file-sharers to download movies and TV-shows.

  • Websites Can Legally Pirate Porn Movies, Prosecutors Rule

    For years Japan’s leading producers of pornographic movies have been battling to protect their content overseas. In particular they have focused on Taiwan where websites openly sell their videos and TV channels air their content without permission. The studios eventually took legal action, but to no avail. This week prosecutors made the decision not to prosecute any of the alleged pirates, ruling that since pornography is obscene it isn’t worthy of copyright protection.

  • Spain to Crackdown on Pirate Sites and Outlaw File-Sharing

    After becoming known as somewhat of a haven for both file-sharing sites and their users, Spain is preparing to crack down on breaches of intellectual property rights. In a blueprint published by the government today, sites said to infringe copyright on a large-scale face fines of up to 300,000 euros and having their payment processors and advertisers removed. P2P downloads will also be outlawed by limiting the right to private copy.

  • eBook Pirates “Hijack” Domain Name of Anti-Piracy Campaign

    This week at a grand press event the French Publishers Association announced their new anti-piracy portal ProtectionLivres.com. Through the website authors can search for and take down infringing content. An ambitious project, but the publisher group overlooked one small detail – the registration of their website’s domain. This oversight was quickly punished by an eBook pirate group who scooped up the domain to redirect it to an anti-DRM website.

  • isoHunt Loses Appeal Against the MPAA, Keyword Filter Remains

    IsoHunt lost its appeal against the MPAA today, with the Ninth Circuit upholding the 2010 ruling that the website does not qualify for safe harbor under the DMCA. The verdict means that isoHunt will have to keep filtering its search results. For the site’s users all will remain the same, as the site has been filtering keywords on a list provided by the MPAA since the initial injunction was issued.

  • Fresh Calls to Congress to Make Movie and Music Streaming a Felony

    Last time there was an attempt to turn streaming copyrighted content into a felony the effort was crushed when the Internet rose up and defeated SOPA. But this week the thorny issue was again raised before Congress, with a suggestion that until the offense is considered a felony rather than a misdemeanor, enforcement will be problematic. Across the Atlantic, Pirate Bay nemesis Rights Alliance says that while enforcement against torrents continues, visitors to streaming sites are on the increase.

  • UK ISPs Start Blocking KickassTorrents, H33T and Fenopy

    BT, Virgin Media, O2 and Be There have started to block access to three of the world’s largest BitTorrent sites. The blockades were put in place following a High Court order earlier this year, which ruled that KickassTorrents, H33T and Fenopy were facilitating copyright infringement. With the sites no longer accessible, hundreds of thousands of UK BitTorrent users will be looking for a new hope, or options to bypass the filters.

  • Google Further Highlights Wrongful DMCA Takedowns

    As the tsunami of DMCA takedowns sent to Google breaks yet another record, there are signs that the search engine is beginning to make rightsholders who have their requests denied a little more visible. As it reinstates Torrentz’s homepage after an earlier takedown against content that doesn’t exist, Google is now actively highlighting takedowns they refuse to process. While some are of minor interest, some reveal a comedy of errors.

  • “Wee Man” Not Happy With Copyright Troll Lawsuits

    Jason ‘Wee Man’ Acuna of Jackass fame is not amused that hundreds of people are sued for allegedly downloaded a movie he starred in. The film, Elf-Man, premiered on DVD late last year and its makers are now trying to boost their revenues through mass-lawsuits targeted at alleged BitTorrent users. And they’re not the only independent film studio that jumped on the copyright troll bandwagon recently.

  • MPAA: Pirates Can’t Hijack Freedom of Expression

    Last week the European Court of Human Rights rejected an application to hear the cases of Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij, two of the co-founders of The Pirate Bay. The MPAA has now come out to applaud the decision, claiming that they are tired of pirates hijacking the term “freedom of expression.” Criminals shouldn’t hide behind such basic rights, the Hollywood group believes.

  • Kim “Billy Big Steps” Dotcom Still Causing Headaches For Spy Agency

    Yet more embarrassing information on the Kim Dotcom spying fiasco has surfaced in New Zealand. Documents show that in December 2011 when the spying began, police already had information which stated that Dotcom – codenamed “Billy Big Steps” – was a NZ resident. As those deemed responsible are held accountable, the GCSB spy agency’s deputy director has become the first high-profile casualty, and the Prime Minister is warning of more “big changes” to come.

  • RapidShare Prepares to Mass Delete Free User Data Over 5GB

    RapidShare has announced a business model change that is causing panic among its non-premium users. After offering unlimited storage space to customers using its free service, the Swiss-based file-hoster is about to implement tough new limits. This Wednesday all free customers will be limited to just 5GB of free storage if they choose not to pay for a premium account. All excess files still hosted will be deleted forever April 3.

  • Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Appeal in $222,000 File-Sharing Case

    For close on six years the dizzying file-sharing case of the RIAA vs Jammie Thomas-Rasset has been winding its way back and forth through the U.S. legal system. The U.S. government itself got involved last month, submitting a brief to the Supreme Court asking it to uphold the $220,000 verdict. Today the Court granted that wish with an announcement that it will not hear Thomas-Rasset’s appeal.

  • Online Music Piracy Doesn’t Hurt Sales, European Commission Finds

    New research published by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre shows that online piracy doesn’t hurt digital music revenues. The researchers examined browsing habits from 16,000 Europeans and found that there’s a positive link between online piracy and visits to legal music stores, irrespective of people’s interest in music. The study concludes that the music industry should not see piracy as a growing concern.

  • The Pirate Bay’s Oldest Torrent is “Revolution OS”

    After nearly 9 years of seeding The Pirate Bay’s oldest working torrent is still very much alive. Interestingly, the torrent is not a Hollywood classic nor is it an evergreen music album. The honor goes to a pirated copy of “Revolution OS”, a documentary covering the history of Linux, GNU and the free software movement.

  • Don’t Download That Bro, You’re Going to Get Busted!

    One of the most enduring questions in the history of online file-sharing asks whether something bad will come from downloading and/or sharing a particular product. Will the the recording and movie industries come knocking? Will the police or even the FBI take an interest? Are the evil bottom-feeding trolls watching my torrents? It’s a complex area, but one that’s fairly easily understood.

  • “New” Demonoid Fools Public with Cheap Copy

    More than half a year has passed since Demonoid went offline but many of its former users still haven’t lost faith. They cling on to every string of hope and this has led some to believe that the site returned as a meta-search engine under the new domain Demonoid.mk. While most people who are familiar with the old Demonoid know that the new site just trades on the brand of the famous torrent tracker, quite a few believe it’s a legit incarnation.

  • University Students and Staff Sued For Pirating 50 Cent Movie

    A new copyright infringement case filed this week looks set to cause a fresh round of controversy. Copyright trolls from Switzerland, who say they are part of a non-profit organization, are about to shake down thousands of alleged pirates who shared the 50 Cent movie All Things Fall Apart. However, in addition to the usual subscribers of ISPs such as Verizon, Comcast and AT&T, the trolls are trying to obtain the identities of individuals located at universities around the United States.

  • Paramount Censors Torrentz’s Torrentless Homepage from Google

    The homepage of the popular torrent search engine Torrentz disappeared from Google this week after Hollywood studio Paramount sent a peculiar DMCA takedown request. Paramount claims in the notice that the URL links to infringing content, but there are no links to torrents or even other torrent sites on Torrentz’ homepage. The meta-search engine has filed a counterclaim and is waiting for Google to respond.

  • Giganews / Golden Frog Founder Fires Off at Dropbox and Mega

    One of the founders of huge newsgroup concern Giganews has lined up both Dropbox and Kim Dotcom’s Mega for criticism. Ron Yokubaitis, who is also co-founder of Golden Frog, the company behind Dump Truck and VyprVPN, says that Dropbox has a number of shortcomings including too much reliance on Amazon’s infrastructure in the United States. Courting more controversy, Yokubaitis also says that Mega’s customers are being “taken for a ride” by a company that has “little respect for governments.”

  • “Pirate Bay” Billboard Hackers Rewarded for Exposing Security Flaw

    A few days ago two computer science students hacked a billboard in the center of Belgrade, Serbia, and replaced its standard message with a meters-wide Pirate Bay logo. The ‘hackers’ said they wanted to show that security of IT-systems is often lacking and their message didn’t fall on deaf ears. The manager of the billboard company thanked the pair for their efforts and rewarded them with a 4G iPad Mini each.

  • Pirate Bay Founders Case Rejected by Human Rights Court

    The European Court of Human Rights has rejected an application to hear the cases of Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij, two of the co-founders of The Pirate Bay. In its decision the Court recognizes that the Swedish verdict against the pair interferes with their right to freedom of expression, but adds that this was necessary in order to protect rightsholders’ right to be protected from copyright infringement.

  • Pirate Bay ‘Buyer’ Receives Probation, Court Dismisses Most “Swindling” Charges

    The man who said he would buy The Pirate Bay and turn it into a legal service faced legal action when he was accused of trying to manipulate stock prices. Hans Pandeya was said to have made misleading statements in order to boost shares in his company, a situation that led the co-founder of Napster and the founder of the Grokster P2P service to testify against him. But now, with the court throwing out all but one of the charges against him, Pandeya is free to continue his business life.

  • Kim Dotcom: “I Will Never be in a U.S. Prison”

    Kim Dotcom made a virtual appearance in the U.S. yesterday, at the SXSW festival in Austin. The Megaupload founder talked about the ongoing legal battle with the Government and is confident that he won’t end up in jail. The flamboyant Internet entrepreneur further criticized a recent study which suggested that Megaupload’s shutdown positively impacted digital movie sales.

  • BitTorrent Premieres New Live Streaming Platform

    After years of development BitTorrent has now released its live streaming service to the public. BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen is one of the main developers of the new protocol which he expects to revolutionize online streaming. BitTorrent Inc. sees its BitTorrent Live product as the ultimate tool for creators to reach an audience of millions with minimal bandwidth costs.

  • Angry Judge Tears Prenda Copyright Trolls Apart

    In the last episode of the astonishing story of Prenda Law, a judge ordered the copyright trolls to appear in court Monday to face allegations of misconduct. At the last minute the law firm tried to squirm out of the hearing and true to their word failed to appear in court yesterday. The hearing went ahead without them and according to those present they now face the wrath of an angry judge, who at one point essentially referred to Prenda as liars.

  • EVE Online Prepares 500,000 Subscribers For BitTorrent Upgrade

    The popular game EVE Online is set to enjoy a boost from the world’s favorite file-sharing protocol. Developer CCP Games has announced that work is underway to improve the EVE Launcher so that EVE client updates may be rolled out more frequently and reliably. In future, more than 500,000 EVE Online subscribers will have BitTorrent under the hood.

  • “Six Strikes” Boosts Demand For BitTorrent VPNs and Proxies

    The launch of the six strikes anti-piracy scheme in the United States has boosted demand for VPN services and BitTorrent proxies. Data from Google reveals a big surge in searches for terms such as “BitTorrent VPN” and “BitTorrent proxy” over the past two weeks. Some VPN providers see the scheme as a clear invasion of privacy and are encouraging people to protect themselves.

  • Pirate Bay ‘Advert’ Appears on Hacked Billboard

    A group of hackers have managed to gain access to a prominently placed advertising billboard located in the crowded Republic Square in the center of Belgrade, Serbia. For a while the billboard displayed the Pirate Bay logo alongside Ghandi’s quote “first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” The people responsible for the stunt claim the hack was done to demonstrate how little attention people pay to IT security.

  • SXSW 2013 on BitTorrent: 7.39 GB of Free Music

    The South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival is one of the largest and most popular in the United States. For the ninth year in a row SXSW is sharing DRM-free, RIAA-safe songs of performing artists, totaling 7.39GB so far. All the tracks can now be downloaded for free in one go, thanks to BitTorrent.

  • Copyright Trolls to Judge: Nope! We’re Not Coming to Scary Hearing

    The copyright trolls of Prenda Law have kicked back against a judge who ordered them to appear before a Los Angeles court this coming Monday. The hearing has the potential to lead to prison for some of those involved but not if Prenda have their way. In a letter sent to the court, Prenda argues several points for canceling the hearing including that the judge lacks jurisdiction, they haven’t been given enough notice, and arrangements haven’t been made for them to get paid. The hole is getting bigger but they keep on digging.

  • Fox Targets Pirate Bay Proxies With Bogus DMCA Requests

    Hollywood movie studio Fox has asked Google to remove dozens of allegedly infringing links to Pirate Bay proxy sites but forgot to check whether the links even exist. The result is a slew of bogus DMCA claims, some for TV-shows that have yet to be produced. Another prime example of how automated take-down procedures lead to abuse.

  • “Six Strikes” Evidence Still Waiting for Impartial Re-review

    Last year it was revealed that the “independent and impartial expert” that reviewed the six-strikes scheme evidence was a former RIAA lobbying firm. To restore the public’s faith in the BitTorrent monitoring scheme, CCI promised to promptly appoint a new independent expert. However, TorrentFreak has learned that after several months the group is still to decide who will carry out the review of the evidence review.

  • Copyright Trolls Order WordPress To Hand Over Critics’ IP Addresses

    In what is becoming one of the strangest, most unbelievable and over-broad farces in the history of United States copyright trolling, the ante has just been upped yet again. In a direct attack on the troll defense blogs FightCopyrightTrolls and DieTrollDie, Prenda Law has just ordered WordPress to hand over all IP addresses of users who accessed either site in the last two years. Just to be clear, that’s everyone’s details.

  • Megaupload Shutdown Boosted Digital Movie Revenues

    A new paper suggests that revenues from digital movie sales and rentals were positively impacted after the shutdown of Megaupload. Researchers from Wellesley College and Carnegie Mellon University compared the income from 12 countries with varying Megaupload usage. They conclude that the shutdown caused a 6-10% increase in digital movie revenues for two major Hollywood studios.

  • Dotcom Given Green Light to Sue Kiwi Spies, But Evidence to be Withheld

    Kim Dotcom and his associates have chalked up another win in their New Zealand extradition battle. Last year High Court judge Justice Helen Winkelmann gave Dotcom permission to sue GCSB, the Kiwi spy agency, for illegally spying on him on behalf of the FBI. The ruling was challenged by the Attorney-General but today the Court of Appeal announced that compensation can indeed be sought from GCSB. The downside is that access to evidence will again be restricted.

  • Google Downranks The Pirate Bay in UK Search Results

    Google has started to downrank the Pirate Bay website in its UK search engine results. The controversial BitTorrent site is no longer listed among the top results when users search for “pirate bay,” independent of the user’s location. For other search terms The Pirate Bay is still listed on top. A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the record.

  • French Govt Reports Large Increase in Three Strikes Piracy Warnings

    The French government has significantly stepped up its game in the war against online piracy. In a new report the country’s anti-piracy agency reveals that in January 2013 it sent 82,000 “first strike” warnings, twice the amount it issued in the same month last year. To find more people receiving a second strike than they did in February 2013 we have to look all the way back to October 2011. Despite the uplift, roughly the same numbers of people are going on to a third strike.

  • HBO Plans to Combat Game of Thrones Piracy, Sort Of

    Last week Game of Thrones director David Petrarca said that piracy isn’t hurting his show, and that it may actually help to build an audience. Several of the show’s actors, on the other hand, have a more negative view towards piracy and equate it to stealing. HBO is not amused either and the TV-network has a plan to counter piracy in 2013. Will it be good enough?

  • Mega Eyes Stock Market as Secret Dotcom Extradition Hearing Gets Underway

    Despite aggressive legal action in the United States, Kim Dotcom and his associates still have big dreams for their Mega machine. Eyeing an IPO within the next 18 months, the company is currently advertising for a New Zealand-based finance guru to join the team as the operation’s Chief Financial Officer. But alongside dreams of a stock exchange listing runs an extradition battle, which today sees the start of a two day secret session that not even Dotcom’s lawyers are permitted to attend.

  • The Pirate Bay ‘Moves’ to North Korea (Updated)

    The Pirate Bay says it has been offered virtual asylum in North Korea. The move comes after the Norwegian Pirate Party was forced to stop routing traffic for the infamous BitTorrent site by a local copyright group. “We can reveal that we have been invited by the leader of the Republic of Korea, to fight our battles from their network,” the Pirate Bay says. A traceroute indeed suggests that The Pirate Bay is now being routed through the dictatorial country.

  • Sony Hits Beyonce File-Sharer With $233,000 Damages Lawsuit

    An important file-sharing prosecution has just taken another unexpected turn. The case, which is notable as the first ever to involve the monitoring and subsequent charging of a BitTorrent user in Sweden, centers around the pre-release leaking of a Beyonce album to The Pirate Bay. Now, in a parallel action brought by Sony Music Entertainment, the labels are seeking eye-watering damages of 1.5 million kronor, a cool $233,000.

  • Comcast’s “Six Strikes” Email With Infringement Details Surfaces

    Together with four other internet providers in the United States, Comcast has started sending copyright alerts to customers who use BitTorrent and other P2P networks to pirate movies, TV-shows and music. Those who are “caught” will receive a browser notification, a voice-mail message and an email with details on the file that was allegedly shared. We have a copy of one of the first emails that went out on Tuesday.

  • Twelve Hollywood Movie Cammers Caught, Police Prosecute None

    This week Hollywood-funded anti-piracy group FACT revealed that the Film Distributors Association had handed out cash rewards to more than a dozen cinema workers who managed to sniff out so-called movie ‘cammers’ in UK cinemas. But despite every case being reported to the police – some involving Skyfall and The Hobbit – authorities could do little in response. Not a single cammer was charged or prosecuted.

  • VPN Services That Take Your Anonymity Seriously, 2013 Edition

    More than a year ago TorrentFreak took a look at a selection of the web’s VPN providers to see which ones really take privacy seriously. During the months that followed we received dozens of emails begging us to carry out an update and today here it is. The first installment in our list of VPN providers that due to their setup cannot link user activity to external IP addresses and activities.

  • Video: Pirate Bay Founder Thanks Supporters From Inside Prison

    While the walls of Sweden’s Mariefred prison are able to contain Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm for the next few months, not even bricks and mortar have the ability to stop him appearing online. This week a kindly anonymous source sent TorrentFreak a video featuring Gottfrid which was recorded inside the jail. During the clip Gottfrid has just one thing on his mind – thanking everyone who has supported him throughout his ordeal.

  • MPAA Revenue Grows, Chris Dodd Gets $2.4 Million

    The latest MPAA tax filing shows that the revenue generated by the anti-piracy group has started growing again after several years of decline. As a result the MPAA was able to double its legal spending and increase wages. After some earlier speculation, the filing reveals that MPAA boss and former Senator Chris Dodd earns a healthy income of more than $2.4 million a year.

  • U.S. Government Wins Appeal in Kim Dotcom Extradition Battle

    Kim Dotcom and his associates have lost a key battle in their extradition fight against the United States. On two earlier occasions, including once in the High Court, Dotcom’s legal team successfully argued they were entitled to examine mountains of evidence held by U.S. authorities. But those rulings were overturned this morning when the Court of Appeal said that the U.S. would be allowed to present a summary case after all. Dotcom says he’ll take an appeal to the Supreme Court.

  • Cablevision Disconnects Persistent Pirates for 24 Hours

    Cablevision / Optimum Online has revealed how it will respond to serial copyright infringers under the six strikes system. The Internet provider says it will temporarily disconnect customers from the Internet after they have received multiple copyright alerts. The disconnection will last for 24 hours but will be lifted when the customer calls a Cablevision hotline.

  • High Court Orders UK ISPs to Block Kickass Torrents, H33T and Fenopy

    The website blocking phenomenon has continued today in the UK, with the High Court adding three major torrent sites to the country’s unofficial ban list. Following complaints from the music industry led by the BPI, the Court ordered the UK’s leading Internet service providers to begin censoring subscriber access to Kickass Torrents, H33T and Fenopy.

  • Japanese Police Arrest 27 File-Sharers in Nationwide Show of Force

    Last year Japan introduced one of the toughest laws in the world for dealing with online piracy but with little visible action against file-sharers it was questioned whether the legislation would have teeth. That position has now dramatically switched, with police nationwide carrying out searches on 124 locations and arresting 27 people for online infringement. Those arrested face up to 10 years in jail.

  • Comcast Punishes BitTorrent Pirates With Browser Hijack

    Comcast revealed today how it will deal with customers who receive multiple warnings under the newly launched “six-strikes” anti-piracy system. After four alerts the ISP will “hijack” web-browsers of suspected serial pirates with a persistent pop-up notification, making it impossible to browse the Internet. The pop-up will disappear after the customer “resolves the issue” with a Customer Security Assurance professional.

  • Former Uploaded.to Admin Fined $188,000 For Copyright Infringement

    The former operator of a popular file-hosting site has been heavily fined by a court in Germany. The man, who is the former admin of Uploaded.to, was found guilty of offenses related to the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content. The court fined him a total of 144,000 euros ($188,000) but due to other key matters in the case the important issue of service provider liability for third party actions wasn’t tested.

  • Piracy Doesn’t Hurt Game of Thrones, Director Says

    With millions of downloads per episode Game of Thrones was by far the most pirated TV-show of last year. However, according to the show’s director, David Petrarca, these unauthorized downloads actually do more good than harm. Petrarca explains that the show needs “cultural buzz” to thrive and survive, and this buzz is being generated in part by pirates.

  • U.S. ‘Pirate’ Streaming Site Operator Gets Amnesty

    The Texan operator of Channelsurfing.net has made a deal with the United States Government to avoid prosecution. The man, who was arrested in 2011 after the domain name of his website was seized, stood accused of criminal copyright infringement for linking to sport streams. In the agreement, the U.S. attorney says that it’s in the best interest of all concerned to give McCarthy amnesty.

  • French Government Mulls Next Generation Anti-Piracy Measures

    After pioneering one of the world’s first “three strikes” anti-piracy schemes the French are now turning their attention to other methods of obtaining unauthorized media. A new report just published by the Hadopi agency tackles the issue of streaming and direct download sites, which currently the organization is doing little about. No surprise that filtering, site blocking and domain seizures are being touted as possible solutions to this growing element of online piracy.

  • The Pirate Bay Departs Sweden And Sets Sail For Norway and Spain

    Following threats of legal action in its traditional home of Sweden, a few hours ago The Pirate Bay set sail for pastures new. Sweden’s Pirate Party had been providing bandwidth to the site for the last three years but came under intense pressure last week when a local anti-piracy group threatened to sue. The Swedish pirates have now stepped aside and handed the responsibilities to pirate parties in Norway and Spain.

  • “Six Strikes” Anti-Piracy Scheme Starts, With Mystery Punishments

    After a long wait, the controversial “six-strikes” anti-piracy system kicks off in the United States. Soon the first BitTorrent users will receive so-called copyright alerts from their Internet provider and after multiple warnings subscribers will be punished. But, what these punishments entail remains a bit of a mystery. None of the participating ISPs have officially announced how they will treat repeat infringers and the CCI doesn’t have this information either.

  • Nintendo Wants to Hunt Down Game Pirates and Block Websites

    In a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Nintendo urges the Government to put pressure on foreign countries to do a better job at tackling online piracy. The game company says it’s suffering “huge losses” due to the unauthorized distribution of their games. Among other things, Nintendo calls for blocking of file-sharing websites and criminal prosecution against those who pirate games or facilitate copyright infringement.

  • BitTorrent Site Admin Hits Out at UK Music Industry Site Blocking Demand

    Within days the UK music industry will head back to the High Court with demands that the country’s leading Internet service providers should begin blocking three of the world’s largest torrent sites. Today, the owner of one of them describes the action as an attack on file-sharers and questions whether the process will be as straightforward as the one previously carried out against The Pirate Bay.

  • Dead Megaupload Still Has Millions of Visitors

    More than a year after Megaupload was shutdown by the feds the site still has millions of visitors every month. Even without content the defunct file-hosting site is among the top 2,500 most-visited websites on the Internet, and only sightly behind Kim Dotcom’s new Mega. The baffling statistics show once again how enormous the site was.

  • “Six Strikes” Anti-Piracy Scheme Starts Monday

    The much-discussed U.S. six strikes anti-piracy scheme is expected to go live on Monday. The start date hasn’t been announced officially by the CCI but a source close to the scheme confirmed the plans. During the coming months millions of BitTorrent users will be actively monitored by copyright holders. After repeated warnings, Internet subscribers risk a heavy reduction in download speeds and temporary browsing restrictions.

  • Scammers Extort BitTorrent Users Posing as Law Enforcement

    A mysterious company using the name “Internet Copyright Law Enforcement Agency” is sending letters to home addresses of alleged BitTorrent users, asking them to pay a settlement fee of hundreds of dollars or face jail time. The outfit claims to work with law enforcement and says it protects the rights of popular artists such as Skrillex and Cee Lo Green . The sophisticated scam goes beyond what we’ve ever seen before, and suggests that there may be people at the ISP level involved.

  • Pirate Party Will Fight Anti-Piracy Group, Inside or Outside Court

    This week the Swedish Pirate Party came under attack from a movie and music industry-backed anti-piracy group. Rights Alliance informed the party that if they continue to work with The Pirate Bay, legal action will follow. With a demonstration and protest set to take place in Stockholm tomorrow, Pirate Party leader Anna Troberg is promising her adversaries a fight, whether that be inside or outside court.

  • Google Fails to Punish “Pirate” Sites in Search Results, RIAA Says

    Following mounting pressure from international rightsholders, last year Google finally caved in and said it would start making ‘pirate’ sites more difficult for its users to find. But, according to the RIAA, this was a false promise. The music group says that sites for which Google receives thousands of DMCA notices still outrank legitimate services. To correct this problem the RIAA is now urging the search engine to “immediately make the necessary changes so its pledge becomes a reality.”

  • Pirate Bay Bandwidth Supplier Disconnected, But The Ship Sails On

    This week the Swedish Pirate Party and one of its bandwidth suppliers were told that they must stop servicing The Pirate Bay or face legal action. It now appears similar threats were extended to Portlane, another Internet provider even further up the connectivity supply chain. TorrentFreak has learned that in a move designed to protect Portlane, The Pirate Bay is no longer utilizing bandwidth from this provider. This shows that even if Portlane had complied, the site would have remained online.

  • CNET Doesn’t Have to Ban BitTorrent Clients, Court Rules

    CBS and CNET do not have to stop distributing BitTorrent clients and other file-sharing software. A California court has denied the request for a preliminary injunction from a group of artists, who accused the companies of facilitating piracy. According to the judge there is no indication that CBS and CNET will purposefully encourage copyright infringement in the future, and a ban would needlessly silence “public discussion of P2P technologies.”

  • Google Refuses to Index Huge Streaming Movie Portal Homepage

    One of the Internet’s largest indexes for streaming movie and TV show content is locked in a dispute over the removal of the site’s homepage from Google’s search engine results. Movie2K, the 240th most-popular site in the world according to Alexa, had its main page delisted following a copyright complaint from Paramount Pictures and efforts to have it reinstated have failed. Google says it will not review the situation, even though the infringing material in question is no longer present.

  • Download a Fresh Copy of The Pirate Bay, With Permission

    There are no signs that The Pirate Bay will disappear anytime soon, but pirate preppers anticipating such a doomsday scenario can now download an updated and improved copy of the world’s most resilient BitTorrent site. A backup of all crucial data has been packed into a tiny 75 megabyte archive, small enough to carry with you at all times. The archive of more than 2 million magnet links has received a seal of approval from The Pirate Bay team and is now up for grabs.

  • Pirate Party Threatened With Lawsuit for Hosting The Pirate Bay

    For several years the Swedish Pirate Party has provided hosting services to The Pirate Bay. One of the main reasons for the BitTorrent site to team up with the political party was because it wouldn’t easily cave in to pressure from the entertainment industry. This promise will now be put to the test as the Swedish copyright watchdog “Rights Alliance” threatens to sue the Pirate Party next week if they refuse to pull the plug on TPB.

  • Anti-Piracy Groups Want Google to Lift DMCA Takedown Cap

    Google is being criticized by copyright holders for the limits it puts on the number of “pirate” links that can be removed per day. The Hollywood -funded anti-piracy organization BREIN wants to increase the daily DMCA cap from 10,000 to 40,000 and eventually remove the restrictions altogether. The RIAA further wants the ability to do more queries to find illegal content and previously said that the current limits are “miniscule.”

  • Former File-Sharing Site Admin Fined 6.4 Million Euros

    The former administrator of one of Italy’s largest file-sharing sites has been handed a record-breaking fine. The individual, known online as Tex Willer, managed the large ItalianShare forum which together with sister sites allegedly serviced around 300,000 members. For his activities on the sites and criminal behavior including fraud and tax evasion the 49-year-old has now been ordered to pay a fine of 6.4 million euros ($8.56m).

  • The Pirate Bay Reports Anti-Piracy Outfit to the Police

    The Pirate Bay has asked the Economic Crime unit of the Finnish police to investigate the alleged criminal actions of anti-piracy group CIAPC. Last week the group copied The Pirate Bay’s design, violating the site’s usage policy. In their complaint TPB cite a similar case where the owner of a parody site was prosecuted recently. “We will not stand by and watch copyright enforcing organizations disrespect copyright,” TPB comments.

  • Hyperlinking Is Not Copyright Infringement, Scholars Say

    A panel of prominent scholars and academics have added their voices to an important case that was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The paper published by the European Copyright Society aims to answer the question of whether publishing a hyperlink to content amounts to a communication to the public and therefore a breach of the creator’s copyright under European law.

  • Pirate Bay Proxy Crowdfunds Legal Fight Against Hollywood Group

    Hollywood’s war against The Pirate Bay website continues in Europe with yet another legal battle. Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN is taking the operator of the popular proxy site Kuiken.co to court, demanding the shutdown of the service as well as a ban on encouraging others to circumvent court-ordered blockades. Tristan, the operator of the proxy, is prepared to fight in court and is running a crowdfunding project to support his legal battle.

  • Anti-Piracy Group to The Pirate Bay: We Want You To Sue Us!

    In an act of either genius or madness an anti-piracy outfit turned the tables on The Pirate Bay this week by pirating parts of their website in order to show that piracy should be avoided. TPB responded by threatening to sue. But rather than back down, the boss of the anti-piracy group now says that being taken to court by the site is something they would encourage and look forward to. Sharpen the cutlasses and bring out the plank, this could get interesting.

  • BitTorrent Starts Cyberlocker / BitTorrent Hybrid, Without Limits

    BitTorrent Inc., the company behind the popular file-sharing clients uTorrent and BitTorrent, launched a new file-sharing service today. Branded SoShare, the new platform is a hybrid between BitTorrent and cloud based storage, allowing users to send files up to dozens of terabytes. SoShare is free of charge and without limits, making it an appealing competitor to more traditional file-storage sites.

  • Megaupload “Planted Evidence” Claim is an Unfounded Conspiracy Theory, U.S. Says

    The Department of Justice has responded to Megaupload’s claims that they “planted” evidence and tried to mislead the court. According to United States Attorney Neil MacBride these allegations are “sensationalist rhetoric” and a “conspiracy theory.” The Government says it never asked Kim Dotcom’s file-hosting service to preserve any infringing files, and asks the court to deny Megaupload’s request to be heard on the matter.

  • Pirated Indie Game Devs Get Full Pirate Bay Support To Crack Steam

    Following the unofficial upload of their game to The Pirate Bay last weekend, a pair of indie game devs took a decision to go with the flow and turn the situation to their advantage. Courting BitTorrent users and posters to Reddit with positive vibes and free download codes, Anodyne’s Sean Hogan asked users to return the favor by voting for his game to appear on Steam. After the original torrent was nuked by Pirate Bay in error, the pair are now back with a full-on Promo Bay promotion.

  • CBS and CNET Liable For ALL BitTorrent Piracy, Artists Tell Court

    In their ongoing legal battle against CBS and CNET, a coalition of artists has reiterated their request for a distribution ban on file-sharing software. The artists, joined by billionaire and FilmOn founder Alki David, accuse the media conglomerate of promoting piracy through websites like Download.com and state in their latest filing that CBS and CNET can be held liable for all BitTorrent piracy.

  • DDoS Attacks Take Down What.cd & Major Private BitTorrent Trackers

    Major private BitTorrent trackers including What.cd and IPTorrents have been taken offline by Denial of Service attacks. The disruptions are being coordinated by an individual who had a fight last year with What.cd after the site failed to give him an invitation. That particular dispute was followed up by DDoS attacks against a range of sites including The Pirate Bay but the promised daily follow-ups failed to emerge. The question now is whether these new attacks are a prelude to something bigger.

  • Anti-Piracy Group Rips Off Pirate Bay Website, Faces Lawsuit

    A Finnish anti-piracy group has copied the design of The Pirate Bay website for their latest anti-piracy campaign. The Pirate Bay is outraged by this move and says it will sue the group for breaking their site policy, which clearly states that organizations are not permitted to steal the site design for nefarious purposes. “People must understand what is right and wrong,” The Pirate Bay says.

  • RLSlog Pulls Movies & TV Shows, Lets Google Find Them Instead

    Following threats from the same lawfirm that effectively shut down NZBMatrix, one of the Internet’s most famous ‘release blogs’ has taken a significant step to avoid legal action. With immediate effect RLSlog will stop providing direct links to where movies and TV shows can be downloaded. However, with the addition of a pre-filled Google search to RLSlog, the world’s largest search engine will supply the same service instead.

  • U.S. Govt: Harsh Punishments Needed to Deter File-Sharers

    The Unites States Government has submitted a brief to the Supreme Court asking it to uphold the $220,000 verdict in the RIAA vs. Thomas file-sharing case. According to the Obama administration damages of $9,250 per song is not an unconstitutional amount and is in fact needed to deter others from engaging on online piracy.

  • Demonoid ‘Operator’ Released From Jail, Case Stalled

    The demise of Demonoid has been cited as one of the main victories against online piracy in 2012, but the case against those responsible for the site is reportedly stagnating. According to new information an alleged operator of Demonoid has been released from jail and criminal proceedings have been halted. The small amount of information that is available comes from U.S. copyright holders who are keeping a close eye on developments.

  • Pirate Bay Blockades Upheld By Finnish Court of Appeal

    Following in the steps of other courts around Europe, Finland’s Court of Appeal has now confirmed that two ISPs previously ordered to block The Pirate Bay must continue doing so. With another ISP’s appeal to the Supreme Court just rejected it now seems likely that anti-piracy company CIAPC has succeeding in its quest to deny 80% of the country direct access to the world’s most infamous torrent site. But still the downloading continues.

  • Open Source Giant VLC Mulls BitTorrent Streaming Support

    With more than a billion downloads since its first release, VLC is one of the most popular media players around. It’s free, open source, and can play virtually every video file available. In the near future it could also become the first mainstream media player with the ability to download and stream torrent files. A group of VLC supporters has put up a $10,000 bounty for the developer who can deliver the right code.

  • Indie Game Devs Delight Pirate Bay and Reddit With Disappearing Torrent

    Over the weekend a torrent of a new game was uploaded to The Pirate Bay and to the delight of observers was greeted with a positive attitude from its creators. One of the guys behind 2D game Anodyne cheerfully posted free codes to his creation and as a result received upvotes on Reddit and votes for inclusion on Steam. As the news spreads today, nobody seems to have noticed something very unusual. The torrent has mysteriously disappeared…..

  • Music Pirates are Cheapskates, Some of Them

    New data on actual music spending in the UK shows that on average music pirates spend less than regular buyers of digital music. The figures are being touted by the UK music industry to show that file-sharers are cheapskates, but those who take a careful look at the numbers will notice that the labels forget to make an important reservation. Let’s lift the curtain of spin to see what’s really going on.

  • Is ‘Pirate DRM’ Really the Best Response to Bulk DMCA Takedowns?

    Over the past few months there has been greater and greater pressure applied to Usenet-related sites and services, with some being forcibly shut down and others closing out of fear. Some have closed their doors to new members in an attempt to improve security but now another phenomenon is raising its head. In order to hinder bulk anti-piracy takedowns, some communities have resorted to techniques that feel a bit like DRM.

  • FBI Employees Download Pirated Movies and TV-Shows

    BitTorrent is used by millions of people every day, even in places where you wouldn’t really expect. New data suggests that employees at the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division are sharing movies and TV-shows with the rest of the world. Is the FBI gathering information on BitTorrent users, or could it be that the feds harbor in-house pirates?

  • Pro File-Sharing Professors ‘Hunted Down’ by the Copyright Lobby

    When professor of multimedia Roger Wallis took the stand during The Pirate Bay trial in 2009, he had to endure several personal attacks. Movie and music industry lawyers did their best to discredit Wallis’ reputation and research. In the Pirate Bay documentary TPB AFK the professor says that these attacks are not unique, and that pro-file-sharing researchers are “hunted down with a whip” by pro-copyright forces.

  • TPB AFK: Watch and Download The Pirate Bay Documentary NOW

    TPB-AFK, the documentary about The Pirate Bay and its founders, is finally out. The film has been in the making for four years and follows the lives of the three Pirate Bay founders during their trials in Sweden. TPB-AFK is the first film to premiere both online and at a major film festival, and can be downloaded and shared for free.

  • Hollywood Asks Kiwi Prime Minister for Better “3 Strikes” Anti-Piracy Deal

    A briefing has revealed that Hollywood summoned New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to meetings in the United States to discuss his country’s “3 strikes” anti-piracy law. The system is currently operational but after lobbying hard for its implementation the studios have refused to use it, claiming that the costs of sending notices to infringers are too high. They told Key that although they have great respect for the scheme, they now need a discount to make it work.

  • Warner Bros. Targets Kim Dotcom’s Mega With Bogus DMCA Requests

    In a bogus DMCA request Warner Bros. has asked Google to remove several links to Kim Dotcom’s cloud hosting service Mega. Not only did the movie studio send in the wrong URLs, they also failed to note that Mega download links aren’t indexed by Google to begin with. Adding to the controversy, Warner Bros does not appear to have sent Mega a direct takedown request for the infringing content in question.

  • Annoy Apple With a Torrent Client For Your Jailbroken iPhone or iPad

    Earlier this week the Evad3rs dev team pleased the Apple world by releasing their most complex jailbreak yet. Their amazing and super-simple tool allows anyone to run unsigned code on their iOS6 firmware in a matter of minutes, smashing Apple’s control over what can and cannot be installed on their devices. BitTorrent apps are completely outlawed by the Cupertino outfit, but a new version of a torrent client released this week bypasses those restrictions.

  • Iceland’s ‘MPAA’ Quits Facebook After 4 Days of Fail

    The Icelandic Film and Movie organization SMAIS is known for its tough anti-piracy stance. In an attempt to engage a debate and address a recent report which accused SMAIS of not paying for software themselves, the group joined Facebook. However, the discussion on the social networking site quickly turned into a flame war. After just four days the group decided to call it quits and left Facebook, with an unlikelihood it will ever return.

  • Pirate Bay Promos Unblocked in Finland, With Music Industry Blessing

    In a surprise move several major record labels in Finland have asked the District Court of Helsinki to unblock Pirate Bay’s Promo Bay. The local anti-piracy group did so after confirming that the website did not facilitate copyright infringement, noting that it is eager “to allow digital consumers access to new legal alternatives to enjoy exciting new music.”

  • Hollywood Won’t Get Piracy Profits From Usenet Site, High Court Rules

    A UK High Court ruling has just handed Hollywood a defeat in a battle against a now-defunct file-sharing site. The MPA argued that when Usenet indexing site Newzbin2 generated profits from piracy, that money should be handed over to the studios. The MPA argued that copyright infringement is theft but the Court said it was more like trespass, noting that any award would have a “chilling effect on innovation and creativity.”

  • Pirate Bay Founder Helped Wikileaks On Several Fronts

    The upcoming Pirate Bay documentary TPB AFK will highlight some under-reported details about the connection between the BitTorrent site and Wikileaks. Among other things, Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm was credited for his involvement in getting the “Collateral Murder” video out to the public. Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the former spokesman of WikiLeaks, further recalls travelling to Sweden with Julian Assange to pay server fees . A meeting he will not forget anytime soon.

  • Japanese Government Plants Anti-Piracy Warnings Inside Fake Downloads

    Last year saw a major upgrade in Japan’s anti-piracy legislation in an attempt to shift Internet users away from file-sharing sites and networks and towards the country’s legitimate outlets. But while the change in the law was significant, getting the legal-downloading message to users proved problematic. In response the government and rightsholders are now seeding fake files with anti-piracy messages hidden inside.

  • RIAA Set For Historic 10,000,000th Google URL Takedown

    From humble beginnings in 2011, last year the RIAA amped up its efforts to have allegedly infringing URLs removed from Google’s public indexes. Fast forward to today and the RIAA is about to hit a historic milestone. During the next few hours the music industry group will issue orders to the world’s largest search engine to take down the 10,000,000th URL on its behalf.

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