Bitorrent share sites face pressure, btjunkie closes. Who next?

The latest high profile case against sharing site MegaUpload has raised a very important point for many similar sites. Who is next?

Regular readers of Kitguru will already be following the story of Kim Dotcom, the owner of MegaUpload. He may have made millions of dollars in revenue from the popular file sharing site but he has ended up in court with his full team for ‘money laundering and racketeering charges. Thousands of users face losing their data, but the case is still ongoing. The Pirate Bay also been facing legal action.

One of the largest Bittorrent sites BTJunkie has shut down for good. They have a short paragraph of text on their front page with the headline ‘2005-2012'. The site has never been involved in legal action, but the guys in charge felt it was time to voluntarily shut it down. “We’ve been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it’s time to move on. It’s been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best!”

BTJunkie has never been under fire by copyright holders, but it was reported to the US Trade Representative (USTR) in November last year. It was listed by the RIAA and MPAA as infringing copyright. They might have been in the line of fire this year, and the closure is intended to stop any possible legal action later this year.

Kitguru says: Who is next? Are we facing the end of ‘sharing' sites?

Become a Patron!