Torrentz.eu, formerly known as Torrentz.com, was the most popular BitTorrent meta-search engine, indexing torrent sites such as KickassTorrents, BTjunkie and The Pirate Bay.
The site was ranked in the top 5 of all BitTorrent sites according to statistics from Alexa. It didn’t offer any downloads on the site but pointed to external torrent sources instead.
Torrentz had a community of more than a million users and lists “verified” torrents on the frontpage.
Here is what happened to Torrentz and why it’s no longer available.
Torrentz shut down in 2016 after being in operation for more than 13 years. The site operator, Flippy, never explained in detail why he took this sudden decision. We do know however that the shutdown was voluntary and the Torrentz domain wasn’t seized or taken over.
Soon after Torrentz.eu said farewell, the unrelated Torrentz2.eu took over.
Torrentz.eu
Founded: July 24, 2003
Founder: Flippy
Closed: August 4, 2016
- Court Keeps DMCA Subpoena Shortcut Closed, Restricts Piracy Settlements
Earlier this year, a Hawaiian District Court blocked movie companies’ efforts to unmask alleged BitTorrent pirates using a DMCA subpoena ‘shortcut’. The filmmakers asked the court to reconsider its position but without success; the ‘DMCA shortcut’ will remain closed. The rightsholders will appeal the order but won’t be able to use evidence previously obtained through settlements with pirating subscribers. - Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 04/29/2024
Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? ‘Dune: Part Two’ tops the chart, followed by ‘Monkey Man’. ‘’Love Lies Bleeding’ completes the top three. - Operation Anime Phase 2: New Anti-Piracy Crackdown Executed in Brazil
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security has announced a second phase of Operation Anime, an initiative to disrupt piracy of Japanese anime and Korean webtoon content. This second wave follows the first which took place close to a year ago. In coordination with Japan-based anti-piracy group CODA and COA based in South Korea, authorities conducted 11 search and seizure warrants in five regions. No sites have been named but domains appeared to have been seized. - Anti-Piracy Veteran Tim Kuik Retires After Leading BREIN for a Quarter Century
BREIN CEO Tim Kuik has retired, shutting down an impressive career that pre-dates the world wide web. Kuik started working at a home video distributor in the 1980s and became director anti-piracy at the Motion Picture Association a decade later. He eventually reached his pinnacle at BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy group where Kuik took the lead for a quarter century. - U.S. Trade Representative Flags Vietnam as a Leading Source of Online Piracy
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has released its annual Special 301 Report, calling out countries that fall short on anti-piracy enforcement and other forms of intellectual property protection. Countries such as Argentina and China are listed as priority threats, while Vietnam is labeled a leading source of online piracy. The USTR urges the Asian country to tackle the problem and take criminal prosecutions seriously.
