AfterDawn: News

BREIN claims closure of 16 BitTorrent sites

Dutch anti-piracy foundation BREIN is touting the closure of 16 BitTorrent sites. The group claims it is part of its effort to "serve and protect authors, artists, producers and distributors of creative entertainment product against commercially significant theft of copyright and neighbouring rights". Among the sites involved are NLexperience.com, DikkeDonder.nl, vplaza.nl, zerocool.nl and torrentmonkey.com.

"Owners of illegal P2P sites knowingly breach copyright laws and take part in it. They know they are causing great damages. They take their advantage and do not do anything to stop the breach. This has to end," explains BREIN director Tim Tuik in a Dutch press release. BREIN claims to have seized assets of DikkeDonder's owner, including a bank account and car, to ensure damages are paid. The group estimates damages of at least €200,000.



In the case of NLexperience.com, the site was previously forced to relocate to Russia after BREIN pressured its ISP. The site ran a private tracker with 10,000 members. BREIN decided to visit the home of the domain owner, on the forth anniversary of his daughter's death, a matter that the site's team says is more than coincidence, since this date was well known among the members of the site. NLexperience currently has a message up explaining it will return under a different name due to intimidation against the domain owner.

BREIN has made it clear it doesn't want to see the site return, saying it will claim damages of €5,000 (6,000 USD) per day, plus an additional €500 (600 USD) per infringing file being traded by their users if the site does choose to reopen. It also demanded the name and addresses of other "employees" at the site. However, questions are already being raised about the information BREIN has provided.

The NLexperience team claims in its statement that it is in touch with DikkeDonder and that no assets have been seized. Also if BREIN did force down 16 sites, then why only mention a few? "I have no clue how they got to that number of 16 sites. I'm willing to bet 14 of those weren't more then a forum with 10 users." Arjan, who works at the adult tracker puretna.com, told Slyck. "As long as BREIN only names 3 sites as examples, we know for sure they're blagging. Any self respecting piracy hunter would display their trophies and not name only 3 out of 16."

We'll sit back and let the propeganda and spin settle, then keep you guys updated.

Source:
Slyck

Written by: James Delahunty @ 13 Feb 2006 13:18

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• 40 comments

• Rikoshay

  Well, seeing as I personally never used (or heard) of these listed sites, it doesn't really concern me much. I just hope sites that I don't use close.
  
  Edit: Oops! What I meant to say is, "I hope that the sites I use don't close." I didn't mean for other sites to close it was just a typo. It actually really sucks that they did that to the poor guy. Hopefully they can recover and replace what they lost to those sites closures.

  13.2.2006 18:26 #1

• MXGzX

  you sir are a pirate

  13.2.2006 18:48 #2

• umug

  I've never heard of those sites either, so there is no way of anyone knowing if they had 1 user or 1000, or even if they were Torrent sites or perhaps just a plant to justify BREIN's existence.
  
  Methinks it's 99% BS.

  13.2.2006 18:52 #3

• Alien13

  Yeah, i havent heard of them either... well they have to start somewhere.... i just hope they dont get to the good sites :Þ

  13.2.2006 19:12 #4

• Dela

  Quote:I've never heard of those sites either, so there is no way of anyone knowing if they had 1 user or 1000, or even if they were Torrent sites or perhaps just a plant to justify BREIN's existence. the sites mentioned are well known in the p2p community, there not some planted sites to make it look like anti-piracy efforts are working.... not all torrent sites in the world are from america, or uk or whatever, and since BREIN is a Dutch foundation, they are only concerned with dutch sites.

  13.2.2006 19:22 #5

• Alien13

  Ahh... thanks dela...
  
  no wonder i hadnt heard of them... i usually visit america, Uk and those type sites :)

  13.2.2006 19:24 #6

• umug

  OK, I stand corrected, thanks dela, although I regularly browse non English speaking Bittorrent sites I obviously don't get around as much as I thought I did ;)

  13.2.2006 19:56 #7

• Dela

  oh you wouldnt believe the number of bittorrent trackers in the world ;-)

  13.2.2006 20:02 #8

• sisph

  "BREIN decided to visit the home of the domain owner, on the forth anniversary of his daughter's death, a matter that the site's team says is more than coincidence, since this date was well known among the members of the site"
  
  -If that's true then they sound like the Mafia. I wonder if they threatned to break his legs right after.
  
  "It also demanded the name and addresses of other "employees" at the site. However, questions are already being raised about the information BREIN has provided. "
  
  -Well, are they employees? Did they do this for profit or is this just some guy trying to cover server costs?
  
  

  13.2.2006 20:59 #9

• Dela

  Quote:-Well, are they employees? Did they do this for profit or is this just some guy trying to cover server costs?hence, the quotation marks around the word employees ;-) i was thinking the exact same thing as you.

  13.2.2006 21:14 #10

• Jasper44

  CONGRATULATIONS---Only 8,000,000 more torrent sites to go.

  13.2.2006 22:18 #11

• Mik3h

  Any blow to the P2P industry is a blow to us all, although there isn't much we can do to try and keep them open, It still does affect all us users even if sites none of us have ever heard of the mentioned sites.
  
  -Mike

  14.2.2006 00:37 #12

• sisph

  Even if this is all a lie, its still negative press that demoralizes p2p supporters.

  14.2.2006 02:41 #13

• tpol069

  I just checked all dutch torrent sites on a dutch "index" site, and only 1 was offline (only temperary at their own accord). And there where also 4 new torrent site.
  

  14.2.2006 02:50 #14

• akkuma

  long live p2p!

  14.2.2006 03:23 #15

• neewbie

  crap sites. lol wat a bunch of n00bs!

  14.2.2006 03:44 #16

• Lethal_B

  Sites have been closed in the past and are being closed all the time (note thereal-world.de). But it doesn't affect us in a huge way. They have closed many p2p sites (note win-mx) but it has never stopped filesharers. Filesharers of the abovementioned sites will move onto the new sites as they always have (the real world used to be my site until it was closed down, but I just moved on :)

  14.2.2006 04:12 #17

• firefae

  We need more p2p sites. I just wish there was some way of winning against these massive faceless corporations. These corporations are the reason people take to piracey, they try to rule our lives and bleed us dry. They think of us as nothing more than cows in a field ready to be turned into the next burger.
  More fat juicy consumers to bleed dry.
  
  viva la Pirates

  14.2.2006 07:03 #18

• sisph

  Yeah, I also wish there was a way we could all stand up to the corporations. And its not just in the realm of music and movies. There are human rights violations, animal cruelty, child labor, and all sorts of other things that many companies do to gain a profit.
  
  I wanna see a PAC (political action committee) that would do exactly the type of thing that the companies due in the legal and economic world. Instead of having the RIAA spout off 'facts' about losing profit you could also have someone touting consumer rights.
  
  It'd be cool to have your own guerrila lawyer unit fighting in the courts and lobbying the governemnt for things you think are right instead of having the corps. do it for more profit.
  
  

  14.2.2006 10:10 #19

• esrever

  Well isn't it nice to know that governments are still making futile, wasteful efforts to stop piracy.

  14.2.2006 10:41 #20

• neewbie

  it sure is. ah well they can try, dont know how far they wil get but.....

  14.2.2006 12:20 #21

• leestrada

  If the American public was paying attention during the Clinton presidency, the Digital Millenium Act would not have sneaked through...everyone was distracted by the Lewinski dress and BJ semen instead of losing their "fair use rights".
  
  I like TorrentReactor and IsoHunt
  
  Go Pirates!!

  14.2.2006 13:10 #22

• A_Klingon

  Quote:They have closed many p2p sites (note win-mx).....Hmmm ?????
  
  I just got a couple of tunes from them a few days ago, Lethal. (WinMX) No problem at all. Lots of choices too.
  
  And I ran the proggie a few minutes ago just to check, and it connected fine.
  
  (????) ;-)
  
  Har-Har, Matey! Shiver Me Timbers! Anchors Away!

  14.2.2006 14:19 #23

• Mik3h

  Hehe, you've forgotten.
  
  Remember I had to give you that patch to get it connected again? It is a systems host file for MX that has to be updated for the user to become connected to the network again.
  
  -Mike

  14.2.2006 15:31 #24

• A_Klingon

  Nope, I didn't forget, Mike. :)
  
  I just checked my software archive cd-rw disc:
  
  WinMX Ver 3.53 patched Ver 1.9
  
  One, single, .exe install file. And the proggie works so smoothly, it puts paid music download services to absolute shame.
  
  Some of the very best things I have, came from the *terrific* folks here at A/D.
  
  (thnx, mike) !!

  14.2.2006 18:27 #25

• Akazecks

  I find it kinda funny really. The only reason I buy cds of music is because I heard the band on the radio, got a few songs, and based on that, bought the cd. Before p2p, I never had a music cd at all. lol...
  

  Lite-On 1653s CSOT
  Taiyo Yuden - TYG01, TYG02
  DVD-Decrypter
  DVD-Shrink

  14.2.2006 20:04 #26

• neewbie

  never liked winmx. files always seem to take to long and queued up. Chat was fun but.... lol
  

  Thermaltake.... cool all your life

  14.2.2006 22:57 #27

• SameeMan

  In a War, soldiers may die.

  15.2.2006 08:46 #28

• Lethal_B

  Ah, klingy. I said their site had been closed, and it is!
  
  But they did also close WinMX, regardless of whether it has been patched or not. ;-)
  
  Hmmmmmmmmmmmm :-)
  

  Lethal Bizzle;
  
  Lethal's iPod FAQ (ever growing) - http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/295183
  
  Forum Rules - http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
  
  Credits for my "Lethal" sig go to the wonderful Mrs B. Props & Grats :) DVD, Your Sig is on the Source ;-)
  
  The Source for Techies ~ http://www.xtreme-source.com/

  15.2.2006 08:57 #29

• prodigy42

  Quote:CONGRATULATIONS---Only 8,000,000 more torrent sites to go. LAMFAO

  15.2.2006 09:33 #30

• WARNE

  That's the thing as one closes 100s more POP or should I say, hop on the WWW. There is no way to TRULY stop this ...

  17.2.2006 15:48 #31

• A_Klingon

  Quote:But they did also close WinMX, regardless of whether it has been patched or not. ;-) Fair enough Lethal, but if you can still find the program (WinMX), it still works perfectly, albeit with the patch.
  
  I rarely throw out older proggies I have previously downloaded because "ya never know what you've got 'till it's gone". It's an ongoing battle to keep up-to-date, but I've always believed that "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it".
  
  You can still get entire albums, some very hard to find ones too with WinMX. :)
  
  

  17.2.2006 17:40 #32

• A_Klingon

  Quote:...never liked winmx. files always seem to take to long and queued up. Chat was fun but.... lolSpealing of WinMX chat, neewbie, I was downloading some choice Deep Purple ditties early one morning, and the gent broke in for a quick 'hello'.
  
  Turns out he was a law student doing his homework on his laptop in...... in........ (guess where?)
  
  In Brazil! Holee smokes!
  
  He couldn't type English very well, but he was a fellow Deep Purple fan. :)
  
  (I never actually tried the Bit Torrent thing yet). P2P gets the job done fine.

  17.2.2006 17:48 #33

• WARNE

  It is quite contagious wherever you are. Once you start it is hard to stop LMAO
  
  Then again there is always Lime Wire

  19.2.2006 09:09 #34

• Lobo_1

  agree. since i started using p2p i am bying more cd's and dvd's. download a sh*t load of new stuff (or old) and if u like go buy them. many moons ago i would sit and listen to the radio and record shows. i would listen to the songs, edit and compile a tape. for free (just lots of time spent). if i liked it i would buy the artist tape or cd. same with friends that listened to my compelations.
  
  today i have confuzer, internet, nice sites. still takes time to search and sort. i might have had to much red wine, but it sounds like the same story to me, just differently written. ? but back then there was no one hunting down people copying from radios. or maybe that is the nice thing of staying in africa, daaark africa. mufasa!
  
  russia is nice for ip hosting. how bout africa then, or cuba or china. don't see spineless capitalist computer geeks (sorry, sure u know what i mean. big up to fellow p2p geeks! don't want millions of u protesting and stuff over what i said. i'm drunk. ;) ) bothering folks that is buzy fighting for freedom, smoking sigars, or worry if they should harvest more rise.
  
  the short of the long: network marketing. spread the word. if u like the word, buy the word. life is to short to try and blast things out of here. well, it is made shorter and hollow minded by doing that. :)

  19.2.2006 09:55 #35

• A_Klingon

  To tell you the truth, lately I've been buying up some very old vinyl albums at $2 each from a discontinued, used record cut-out bin from a discount store called 'Value Villa' in our area.
  
  I have a cheap turntable, and I've been transcribing these ancient TREASURES to music cd as of late. Most of these albums are very rare finds indeed, and date back to when I was just a mere kid some 472 years ago. :)
  
  I now have on CD, music albums that I never thought I would ever see or hear again as long as I lived - music that has been in my head forever, but unrealized for many many years until now. To say that I am mesmerized by the music and the reliving of memories I had when I used to listen to these albums, would be an understatement. Needless to say, these LPs never made the transition to commercial, retail cd.
  
  WARNE: Hi! I got your PM. I'll check with the admins on what you asked about. I myself can't name-change anything for you, but I'll hob-nob with the higher powers to see what can be done.
  
  - Mike - (Klingy)

  19.2.2006 11:22 #36

• ireland

  hello klingy,i see ye are up and well and out of ye sick bed..
  
  that great,stollery told us ye found out it was not the flu..
  ireland

  19.2.2006 11:26 #37

• Lethal_B

  Quote:(I never actually tried the Bit Torrent thing yet). P2P gets the job done fineHi Klingy,
  
  It is great for full albums, and the nice thing is that there is usually a Discography of your favourite artist..All their albums available in one download. But it's probably not much good to you on your dial up ;)
  Quote:To tell you the truth, lately I've been buying up some very old vinyl albums at $2 each from a discontinued, used record cut-out bin from a discount store called 'Value Villa' in our area.
  
  I have a cheap turntable, and I've been transcribing these ancient TREASURES to music cd as of late. Most of these albums are very rare finds indeed, and date back to when I was just a mere kid some 472 years ago. :)I like doing that with old tapes from the 70's & 80's which can't be heard nor seen of nowadays.. It's a luxury to be able to do and gives music a true value.
  
  And I wasn't aware you were poorly, but good to see you posting and hope you make/have made a full recovery :-)
  

  Forum Rules - http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
  
  Credits for my "Lethal" sig go to the wonderful Mrs B. Props & Grats :) DVD, Your Sig is on the Source ;-)
  
  The Source for Techies ~ http://www.xtreme-source.com/

  19.2.2006 11:46 #38

• xhardc0re

  they close down 1 bittorrent site, 10 more come up in their place. thank the gods they aren't sending ppl to prison for having BT sites. Maybe they can keep all those murderers off the street but "omg r profits are down 3% this year it must be all those evil bt downloaders. lets pay off some politicians & get em"

  22.2.2006 08:27 #39

• A_Klingon

  Quote:hello klingy,i see ye are up and well and out of ye sick bed..Hi Larry!
  
  You know, it really is _good_ to see you (in your *own* words), even though cut-&-pasting of articles is very useful. It's good to see you using your own thoughts.
  
  (It was a horrible stomach infection - laid me on my back for a week - 2 trips to doctor, plus a prescription, plus the ol' "rubber-glove" inspection!
  
  Oh! The Horror!
  
  But I assure all my RagTag friends, I am just 'tickety-boo' now. Even frisky! :-) (Who shall I 'pick on' today ??)
  
  Don S. can be a wonderful correspondent.
  Quote:I like doing that with old tapes from the 70's & 80's which can't be heard nor seen of nowadays.. It's a luxury to be able to do and gives music a true value. Absolutely right, Lethal. I even did up some old eight-track tapes for my Dad, and sent Ireland some old 78-rpm shellac transcriptons!
  
  Some of these things are timeless, and with your player's remote control ( <<Previous and >>Next buttons ), the convenience is unprecendented over, say, the original 8-tracks.
  
  
  
  

  22.2.2006 11:08 #40