0/5

BitTorrent denies it supports piracy

And the file-sharing platform reckons Game of Thrones is not the most downloaded show.

2013-06-27_1256An interesting statement from BitTorrent emerged in the US this week after reports that Game of Thrones is the most downloaded show on its platform.

The file-sharing platform said in a statement it did not host infringing content.

“We don’t point to it. It’s literally impossible to ‘illegally download something on BitTorrent.’ To pirate stuff, you need more than a protocol. You need search, a pirate content site, and a content manager. We offer none of those things. If you’re using BitTorrent for piracy, you’re doing it wrong.”

“These so-called ‘records’ are presumably based on numbers from pirate websites that have no affiliation with BitTorrent, Inc.,” says the company. “If they’re corroborated using data from pirate websites, they’re Internet Piracy Records. They’re not BitTorrent Piracy Records.

“We don’t endorse piracy. We don’t tally up illegal downloads, and crown pirate-kings. But these kinds of stories give us the opportunity to tell the truth about what’s going on inside BitTorrent.

“In partnership with the Internet Archive, artists, labels and studios, we’ve made more than two million pieces of licensed, legal content available for download over the BitTorrent protocol. We’ve built a legit media ecosystem designed to close the gap between creators and fans. In 2012 alone, titles from this collection have been downloaded over 152 million times.”

The company also reckons Canadian YouTube cooking show Epic Meal Time is actually its most downloaded show at 8,626,987 downloads.

“That’s nearly double the claimed downloads of the Game of Thrones finale,” it says.

Ever wanted to know about bacon-wrapped corndogs? Me neither…

BitTorrent concludes by encouraging readers to watch Game of Thrones “legally.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter

NB: Please stick to Comments Policy, people.

8 Responses

  1. I agree with others here. No-one else is to blame except the masses of individuals who illegally download in the first place. They should be the ones thrown in jail & paying fines. BitTorrent is just a transfer protocol, but ISPs should be made to hand over data to entertainment companies wishing to prosecute.

  2. I don’t think you can blame BitTorrent as such, it’s right up there with blaming Telstra or Optus.

    As for Game of Thrones it’s now fast tracked on TV here, just a pity FTA doesn’t have the rights but would that stop it even if it aired here just hours after the US?

  3. BitTorrent is a file sharing protocol, not an app or website – those are developed by third parties.

    You can’t blame the creator of SMTP, nor the creators of Gmail, for any illegal documents transferred by email.

  4. BitTorrent is simply a peer-to-peer file transfer protocol. There is nothing to shut down. It would be like saying you were going to shut down ftp or http.

  5. BitTorrent is a protocol. You use other sites to search and find this material.

    Kazzaa, Limewire etc, lost because they are directing searches. They used P2P (peer to peer) networks. P2P isn’t illegal, and isn’t infringing content. It’s how it is used.

    Much like the Internet isn’t illegal just because there are sites dedicated the child porn (which is disgusting) my little pony fandom (which is sad) and TvTonight (which is awesome).

    ThePirateBay might get taken down, but the protocol they use is not illegal.

  6. Sounds a lot like the arguments used by Audiogalaxy and Kazaa when they were fighting copyright lawsuits. “We’re not hosting the files so we’re not responsible”. It didn’t help them, they were closed down anyway.

    Like it or not, a lot of people put a lot of time and money into providing music and other entertainment and if you want to enjoy it, you have to pay for it. There is no free lunch.

Leave a Reply