The Pirate Bay is an online index of digital content , founded in 2003, where visitors can search, download and contribute magnet links and torrent files, which facilitate peer-to-peer file sharing. (Photo : YouTube/ReviewTechUSA)
The Pirate Bay (TPB) has once again proven to be the king of torrents after KickassTorrents (KAT) and Torrentz.eu shut down. Last week, TPB celebrated its 13th anniversary amid other torrent giants succumbing to the long arm of the law.
KAT was shut down after the alleged owner was arrested in Poland on the United States government orders, according to Torrent Freak. It is unlikely that the original domain will come back anytime soon, but KAT crewmembers have been working hard to keep users together.
Swedish pro-culture organization, Piratbyrån (Piracy Bureau), founded TPB in 2003. While the initial idea was to create a first public file-sharing site in Sweden, TPB soon turned into a universal file-sharing icon it is today.
For many years, there have been moves to shut down the site. In 2006, Swedish authorities raided the website following pressure from the US, but the site only returned stronger. Furthermore, criminal convictions of TPB founders did not kill the website, nor did any of the subsequent attempts to shut it down, and today, the site is very much alive.
The Pirate Bay's resilience is an achievement by itself, especially since other sites have fallen over the years. Currently, many KAT and Torrentz.eu users are getting their torrent files from TPB. In fact, the website is now the most visited.
Speaking with the same publication, several TPB crewmembers are not happy with the circumstances surrounding the torrent community. However, they said that TPB has a crucial role to play in the community.
"TPB is as important today as it was yesterday, and its role in being the galaxy's most resilient torrent site will continue for the foreseeable future," Spud17 said. "Sure, TPB has its flaws and glitches but it's still the go-to site for all our media needs, and I can see TPB still being around in 20 or 30 years time, even if the technology changes."
While Xe pointed out that TPB is not perfect, she said that the site's resilience is an important factor today. Therefore, it is not surprising that the site is once again the destination of choice in the torrent community.
Here is footage for more information on TPB:
