Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

Spotify's Pirate Secret: From P2P to Streaming Giant

2025-02-28

Spotify's success story has a little-known secret: in its early beta phase, it used unlicensed MP3s from pirate sites like The Pirate Bay! Rasmus Fleischer, a former member of The Pirate Bay, reveals that Spotify's beta was essentially a "pirate service," leveraging unlicensed music from employees' hard drives to launch the platform. This, combined with Spotify's P2P technology and its free, ad-supported model, successfully attracted millions of former pirates. This revelation highlights Spotify's shrewd early strategy and its complex relationship with the piracy wave.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech

French Copyright Holders Push VPNs to Block Pirate Sites, Threatening Exodus

2025-02-25

In France, copyright holders are legally pressuring major VPN providers to assist in blocking pirate websites. While aiming to strengthen existing measures, VPN providers view this as a dangerous precedent, citing potential security risks and overblocking. Some are even considering withdrawing from the French market entirely. This action raises concerns about net neutrality and digital freedom, highlighting the tension between combating piracy and protecting user privacy.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech

Court Orders Altice to Disclose Data of 100 Alleged Music Pirates

2025-02-20

Altice, the parent company of internet provider Optimum, has been ordered by a court to disclose personal details of 100 alleged music pirates. This comes as part of an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a group of record labels. The labels allege Altice failed to adequately address repeat infringers on its network. In return, Altice will gain access to anti-piracy information, including a letter the RIAA previously sent to BitTorrent Inc., regarding copyright infringement. The case highlights the legal battles faced by ISPs in combating online piracy.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech online piracy

US Anti-Piracy Symposium Pushes for Site Blocking

2025-01-29

A recent USPTO anti-piracy symposium highlighted the need for site blocking in the US. Experts discussed the evolution of piracy into a sophisticated, multi-level industry offering "piracy as a service." The brazen behavior of some pirates, openly advertising and even trademarking their services, further emphasizes the urgency. While site blocking is effective in over 50 countries, the US lags behind, partly due to the 2012 SOPA failure. The symposium advocated for a dynamic US site-blocking system, learning from international examples to avoid overblocking and swiftly target new pirate domains.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech anti-piracy piracy industry

Meta Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Use of Pirated Torrent Data for AI Training

2025-01-20

Authors are suing Meta for allegedly using their copyrighted works without permission to train its AI models. The lawsuit claims Meta used BitTorrent to download and share millions of pirated books from the shadow library LibGen. While Meta admitted to using unofficial sources, it argued fair use. However, plaintiffs are seeking Meta's BitTorrent client logs and seeding data to prove willful infringement. A judge allowed further investigation into the 'seeding' aspect, potentially impacting Meta's fair use defense and significantly altering the case's trajectory.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech AI copyright

Telegram Takes Down Z-Library and Anna's Archive Channels

2025-01-15

Telegram shut down the popular shadow libraries Z-Library and Anna's Archive's channels due to copyright infringement. Both channels, boasting massive subscriber counts, were careful to avoid posting direct infringing links, yet were still terminated. Telegram hasn't disclosed the specific reason, but speculation points to copyright complaints or an Indian court order. Z-Library has launched a new Telegram channel.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech shadow libraries

Suprnova Founder: From Torrent Empire to YouTube Megachannel

2024-12-24

Twenty years ago, the torrenting world was rocked by the sudden shutdown of Suprnova.org. Its founder, Andrej Preston (aka Sloncek), recently spoke to TorrentFreak, recounting his journey from a 15-year-old building a torrenting empire to shutting it down amidst copyright concerns, and ultimately transitioning to YouTube, where he built "The Infographics Show," boasting over 14 million subscribers. He admits his younger self was naive regarding copyright and business, but he's proud of Suprnova's scale and the person it shaped him into. This experience instilled valuable project management and content creation skills, leading to his YouTube success. He also offers insightful perspectives on copyright, online entertainment, and the future impact of AI-generated content.

(torrentfreak.com)

Misc Torrent

Court Orders Cloudflare to Block Pirate Streaming Services

2024-12-24

A Milan court has ordered Cloudflare to block pirate streaming services offering Serie A football matches across all its services, including CDN, DNS, WARP, and proxy. The court ruled Cloudflare's services facilitate access to illegal streams, undermining Italy's 'Piracy Shield' legislation. The order also mandates broad data disclosure, requiring Cloudflare to identify customers using its services for piracy. This landmark ruling highlights the responsibility of third-party intermediaries in combating digital piracy and represents a significant step forward in anti-piracy efforts.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech Serie A

Canada's First Pirate Site Blocking Order Expires

2024-12-16

Canada's first pirate site blocking order, targeting the IPTV service GoldTV, quietly expired this week. Rightsholders Bell and Rogers chose not to seek an extension, despite many targeted domains remaining online. The decision likely reflects cost considerations and shifting priorities. Initially approved in 2018 and upheld against appeals in 2021, the order had a significant impact on piracy. However, the rightsholders have now shifted focus to broader, more dynamic blocking efforts targeting live sports streams and other platforms.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech piracy site blocking

French Anti-Piracy Battle Escalates: DNS Provider Quad9 Blocks Pirate Sites Globally

2024-12-12

In an escalating fight against online sports piracy, French media giant Canal+ secured court orders forcing DNS providers Quad9 and Vercara to block access to pirate streaming sites in France. Quad9, deeming this an absurd application of copyright law, plans to appeal but has globally blocked the domains for now. This action sparks a global debate about copyright and net neutrality, with Quad9 seeking public support for its appeal to maintain an open internet.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech copyright net neutrality DNS blocking