TorrentFreak

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.