In a joint operation on Friday, police and prosecuting authorities in Belgium and Switzerland shut down the infamous file-swapping network Razorback2.
Razorback2 was the number one eDonkey peer-to-peer server facilitating the illegal file swapping of approximately 1.3 million users simultaneously. Razorback2 was operated as a commercial enterprise indexing over 170 million files including millions of copyrighted movies, software, games, TV programming and music with international and U.S. titles. The site was regularly used by people located all over the world, with the vast majority of users based in Europe.
Motion Picture Association (MPA) Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman, said,
"This is a major victory in our fight to cut off the supply of illegal materials being circulated on the Internet via peer-to-peer networks. By shaving the illegal traffic of copyrighted works facilitated by Razorback2, we are depleting other illegal networks of their ability to supply Internet pirates with copyrighted works which is a positive step in our international effort to fight piracy."
Swiss authorities arrested the site's operator at his residence in Switzerland this morning and searched his home. At the same time, on the authority of a local magistrate, Belgian police seized the site's servers located at an Internet hosting center in Zaventem near Brussels. The operation conducted by Swiss and Belgian authorities aimed at cutting off a major supply and facilitator of illegal files to several popular illegal file swapping networks. By shutting down Razorback2, the ease with which pirates can obtain illegal content online will slow dramatically. Since November of 2004, authorities have closed down all of the major eDonkey servers in the United States, and now, Europe.
The operators of Razorback2 had clear financial motives. In addition to collecting "donations" from users, revenue was also generated through the sale of advertising on the site, usually promoting pornographic web sites. In addition, the availability of offensive content will be inhibited. The operators of this eDonkey site chose not to exercise control over files being traded by users which including those containing child pornography, bomb-making instructions and terrorist training videos.
Executive Vice President and Worldwide Anti-Piracy Director John G. Malcolm, said,
"Razorback2 was not just an enormous index for Internet users engaged in illegal file swapping, it was a menace to society. I applaud the Swiss and Belgian authorities for their actions which are helping thwart Internet piracy around the world."
Razorback2 posted statistics on its site regarding the number of uses online at any one time, reveling in its reputation as the world's largest P2P facilitator. On Friday, users attempting to connect to Razorback2 read the message "Razorback space 2.0 appears to be dead.". Today, the web site is completely offline.
The MPA and its member companies, working with the local film industries, have a multipronged approach to fighting piracy, which includes educating people about the consequences of piracy, taking action against Internet thieves, working with law enforcement authorities around the world to root out pirate operations and working to ensure movies are available legally using advanced technology.
The MPAA estimates that the film industry lost approximately $3.5 billion to movie piracy in 2004, a total that does not include losses due to Internet piracy. According to a study by Smith Barney, losses were $5.4 billion in 2005.
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