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Sunday, March 25th, 2018
| Time | Event |
| 3:15a | Demonoid Surpasses 10 Million User Registrations
The site has disappeared for months, more than once, but always reappeared. That by itself is already quite an accomplishment, but this month the semi-private tracker also reached a numerical milestone. After 14 years, the 10 millionth user signed up a few days ago. To put this into perspective; That’s the entire population of Sweden, and then some. Of course, the majority of these users are not active anymore. Some have moved on to other torrent sites, stopped using torrents completely, or kicked the piracy habit for good. TorrentFreak reached out to Demonoid founder Deimos, who mentioned another caveat. While 10 million people have indeed signed up over the years, roughly two million have been banned or disabled since. Still, it remains a fascinating statistic. The main goal of Demonoid was never to get 10 million registered users. Instead, the site would have preferred a smaller but more active community, which is how it all started. But a lot has changed since 2004. There have been some internal struggles in recent years and aside from a few oldies who stuck around, the site is made up of different people now. “The main difference is the people, the group is completely different from what it was,” Deimos tells us. The old forum is no longer active either. Instead, the link on the site now directs users to the official Demonoid community on Reddit. Another sign of the times. Going forward, Demonoid is hoping to regain the community and vibe it had over a decade ago. Not an easy task with much more pressure and tension surrounding torrent sites, but that’s the ultimate goal. “I think we are getting back to basics, what the Demon community was at the beginning, which was the coolest aspect of the site IMHO. We might not be there yet but we are closer now,” Deimos concludes. At the time of writing, Demonoid’s registration is open to the public, but that changes frequently. Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons. |
| 9:33a | Russia Blocked 8,000 Pirate Sites in 2017, “Visits to Cinemas Up 11%”
While most regions with blocking legislation carry out their work with enthusiasm, perhaps surprisingly it’s Russia setting the standards. With almost constant amendments to copyright law, the country is able to block pirate sites, mirrors, and proxies in a very short timeframe indeed. And it has been doing so, in huge numbers. According to data shared with Izvestia by local telecoms watchdog Rozcomnadzor, in 2017 Russia blocked a staggering 8,000 pirate sites, more than any other country on the planet. In a clear sign of the way things are going, that figure represents a four-fold increase over the 2,000 sites that were blocked on copyright grounds in 2016. While blocks can be authorized for infringement of copyright on everything from music to software and from books to TV shows, it is the movie industry leading the way in volume terms. In 65% of cases of site-blocking in 2017, the requests came from companies involved in the production and distribution of films. Sheer volume aside, there’s nothing really surprising about the site-blocking movement in Russia. However, it differs from most other regions when it comes to assessing its usefulness. Groups in many other countries have claimed that site-blocking is effective in reducing visits to pirate sites and even reducing piracy itself, but the majority steer clear of claiming that it actually does anything to increase sales. Not so Russia. According to data from Russia’s Cinema Foundation cited by Rozcomnadzor alongside site-blocking statistics, last year “the aggregate box office of the national film distribution” grew by 10.9% amounting to 53.6 billion rubles [US$927.3m], up from 48.4 billion rubles [US$837.3m] in 2016. In addition, the telecoms regulator said that cinema attendance across the country had increased by 11.4% over the previous year. A court process is required to block infringing sites that fail to cooperate when rightsholders ask for content to be taken down. Those that push the boundaries by refusing to remove content on multiple occasions can find themselves blocked on a permanent basis. In 2017, a total of 530 sites were added to Russia’s permanent blacklist, up from ‘just’ 107 sites in 2017. In addition, 459 pirate site “mirrors” were blocked by ISPs with no hope of reprieve. Following changes to the law last October, permanently blocked sites are also removed from search engine results. But while the current system presents no significant obstacles to having many thousands of sites blocked during the course of a year, Russian authorities want more anti-piracy tools in their arsenal. New proposals would see pirate sites blocked without the need for any court process at all. It’s already possible to have mirror sites blocked without a separate process but if the Ministry of Culture has its way, copyright complaints issued to hosting services and sites that go completely unanswered without deletion of content could suffer the same fate. Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons. |
| 7:05p | Rapidgator Plans to Launch Blockchain Powered File-Storage Platform
While Rapidgator’s functionality hasn’t drastically changed in recent years, the site’s CEO has been working on an ambitious new project. This month, he’s introducing their blockchain powered file-sharing and distribution platform Market.space to the world. Generally speaking, we’re not too eager to cover ICOs and new cryptocurrencies but with a major file-sharing player getting involved, we decided to take a closer look. Simply speaking, the new platform will act as a hosting aggregator. Professional hosting services can offer their unused capacity, creating a market where consumers can pick the option that’s best for them, with bulletproof anonymity. Decentralized file-storage services are not new by any means. Platforms such as Filecoin and Storj.io have been around for a while, so how does Market.space differentiate itself? According to Rapidgator’s operator and CEO, Alex Rakhmanov, Market.space will focus on partnerships with large professional hosting companies. This as opposed to storing content on computers of the public. “Market.space will be booking.com for storage where the customer can select the best location for his storage and the lowest price,” Rakhmanov says. On the demand side, the audience can be quite diverse, ranging from companies who need a file-storage solution to artists or scientists who want to share their data. The technical details and fine print of the plan are spelled out in the whitepaper, although it’s hard to judge a project without being able to try a working version. The most interesting part to us, at this point, is the link to Rapidgator, which is publicly promoted. The Market.space website highlights the CEO and mentions Rapidgator as an established file-sharing platform with a storage capacity of more than 20 Petabytes and 40 million visitors per month. Although that’s a testament to its file-sharing expertise, critics are likely to point out the piracy label copyright holders have applied to the site over the years.  While the site can be used to share any type of file, it has often been criticized as a piracy haven. Earlier this year, the site was also featured on the US Trade Representative’s list of notorious markets. These characterizations are not new, but Rapidgator’s CEO categorically refutes the claims. “Rapidgator is a highly acclaimed file-sharing website, with an established technology behind it. We comply with the DMCA and remove files when they are reported,” Rakhmanov tells TorrentFreak. He stresses that Rapidgator currently works with major industry players such as IFPI, who have direct access to their takedown tools. Market.space will also comply with DMCA takedown notices, although this isn’t expected to be a major issue. “As for market.space it is more a business to business model. I don’t think there will be any copyright issues,” Rakhmanov says. “Still, we’ll have to register the new project for DMCA purposes and remove files if they are reported. If a report is false, the user can send a counternotice and restore it,” he adds. Market.space’s token sale, which will various tokens including SIA and Storj, starts on April 16. The ICO has a hard cap of $50 million, and a minimum of $15 million is required to get the project off the ground. Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons. |
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