Anti-Piracy Group Shuts Down More Torrent Sites

HOOFDDORP, Netherlands — The Dutch anti-piracy organization BREIN has announced the closure of six more torrent sites hosted in the Netherlands, with a total of approximately 70,000 users and 9,000 links to illegal files, according to a statement issued Monday.

BREIN, which is Dutch for "brain" and is a Dutch acronym for “Protection Rights Entertainment Industry Netherlands,” is a joint anti-piracy effort initiated by Dutch authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers and software publishers who have joined forces to combat intellectual property theft, according to the organization’s website.

Three of the recently closed torrent sites were hosted by LeaseWeb, a Dutch hosting company that was forced to hand over information concerning the sites as a result of a lawsuit initiated by BREIN.

In June, a Dutch court ruled that LeaseWeb had to disable the BitTorrent site Everlasting.nu and Demonoid.com, and ordered the company to provide personal information concerning the owners of the sites to BREIN.

LeaseWeb appealed the decision, stating that at the time the company was “of the opinion that upholding the judgment resulting from the preliminary injunction proceedings would constitute an unacceptable and unjustified violation of the freedom of expression, which is inherent to the Internet and the protection of privacy.”

In July, LeaseWeb relented and supplied information concerning Demonoid.com, which was at that time among the top 500 most-visited sites on the Internet, according to Alexa.com.

In a statement issued at the time of LeaseWeb’s capitulation regarding Demonoid.com, BREIN director Tim Kulik said that there was “nothing wrong with BitTorrent technology, what matters is how you use it.”

“Demonoid makes systematic and structural use of the availability of illegal files and that is not allowed,” Kulik said, adding that his organization frequently hears the argument that since the illegal content is not stored on the torrent sites themselves, the sites are not doing anything illegal. Kulik rejected that notion, saying that if a site is “making use of illegal files, that is illegal too.”

Kulik said that BREIN’s goal is to create an environment in which “the Netherlands [will] no longer serve as a safe haven for illegal sites.”

“Last year we addressed illegal Dutch sites which tended to be smaller,” Kulik said. “Now we are after the large international illegal sites.”

According to BREIN, the organization’s efforts thus far have led to the shutdown of more than 150 peer-to-peer sharing sites with a total of approximately 1.6 million subscribers.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Chloe Amour: Recharged, Refocused, and Ready for Real Love

These days, getting ahold of Chloe Amour on the weekend can be tough. She might ditch her phone, as was the case on a recent weekend while celebrating her birthday with family at Disneyland, riding the rides and taking in some sun.

Strike 3 Holdings Sues Meta for Pirating Vixen Media Group Content to Train AI

Vixen Media Group owner Strike 3 Holdings filed suit in federal court this week, accusing Facebook parent company Meta of copyright infringement and alleging that Meta has extensively pirated VMG content to train its artificial intelligence models.

Isabella De Laa, Cherry Candle Star in Latest From MixedX

Isabella De Laa and Cherry Candle star in the latest release from MixedX, titled “Between Us.”

Tony Sting, Adira Allure & Dominic Pacifico Headline Latest From BiPhoria

Tony Sting, Adira Allure, and Dominic Pacifico star in the latest release from BiPhoria.

Proxy Paige, Wolf King Release 'I Kissed a Trans and I Liked It'

Evil Angel has released its latest title, “I Kissed a Trans and I Liked It,” co-directed by Proxy Paige and Wolf King.

Pineapple Support, Streamate to Host 'Navigating Grief and Loss' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Streamate are hosting a free online support group to help performers cope with grief and loss.

Friday is Final AV Compliance Deadline in UK

Friday, July 25 marks U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s deadline for user-to-user services such as tube, cam and fan sites to implement its requisite “highly effective age assurance” measures for preventing minors from viewing adult content.

Elly Clutch Stars in Latest From Brazzers

2024 XMAs Female Clip Creator of the Year Elly Clutch stars with Ricky Johnson in the latest release from Brazzers, titled "Elly’s Evil Twin."

Liz Jordan Crowned Newest Vixen Angel

Vixen Media Group (VMG) has crowned Liz Jordan as its newest Vixen Angel.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches for May, June

AEBN has released the top search terms for the months of May and June from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Show More