http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/pirate-bay-file-sharing-website-sweden-police-raid/story?id=27498033
The popular site for illegally downloading media such as music, movies, and TV shows, Pirate Bay, has been taken down by a raid on the servers in Stockholm, Sweden. The website has completely disappeared from the Internet, marking the biggest raid on the site in recent history. Pirate Bay's original co-administrator, who is no longer involved, expressed indifference and hopes that if the site resurrects, it'll be better than it was before as he expressed disappointment in what it had become. As for the site's eventual fate, no one has any delusions that it'll stay sunk for long. Administrators are already formulating new ways to avoid authorities and bring the site up again.
I don't have any strong opinions on the topic of pirated media, but I don't think it's as big of a deal as authorities think it is. The creators of the media still get a good amount of money from their work, and if it reaches a wider audience their work will be promoted. Among those who see it in an illegal setting will be people who like it well enough to support it with their money by legally buying merchandise or future media. The temporary destruction of Pirate Bay won't change the illegal media trade in the long run. After all, who doesn't like free stuff?
I don't see it being a big problem either with the same reasoning you gave. If they did resurrect the cite, it would probably be a lot harder to find if it is still a pirated media cite.
ReplyDeleteI am really curious as to how the Swedes were able to locate physical members of this group. Quite an impressive feat for the Swedish cyber division. As for their total destruction, there is no doubt in my mind that this group will come back again. In a previous story that I heard, Pirate Bay has some 70 other country domains that they can use. The ship has most likely sailed away from Scandinavia to some obscure country that won't care about their presence.
ReplyDeleteI don't really think that this is that big of a deal as millions of songs, books, movies, tv shows, etc are illegally downloaded each day. This one site won't make a difference really, but it makes people feel like they're actually accomplishing something. Now if this was another drug website like the Silk Road, that'd be a different story.....
ReplyDeleteI don't know why the government tries so hard to shut down sites like these. They could use the money to do so many more productive things. I reality pirating media is a crime, but its victims are millionaires, so I think they can stand being a little less rich.
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