<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
(	O
sometimes	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
TPB	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
online	O
index	O
of	O
digital	O
content	O
of	O
entertainment	O
media	O
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Founded	O
in	O
2003	O
by	O
Swedish	O
think	O
tank	O
Piratbyrån	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
allows	O
visitors	O
to	O
search	O
,	O
download	O
,	O
and	O
contribute	O
magnet	B-Protocol
links	I-Protocol
and	O
torrent	B-Protocol
files	O
,	O
which	O
facilitate	O
peer-to-peer	O
,	O
file	O
sharing	O
among	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
has	O
sparked	O
controversies	O
and	O
discussion	O
about	O
legal	O
aspects	O
of	O
file	O
sharing	O
,	O
copyright	O
,	O
and	O
civil	O
liberties	O
and	O
has	O
become	O
a	O
platform	O
for	O
political	O
initiatives	O
against	O
established	O
intellectual	O
property	O
laws	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
central	O
figure	O
in	O
an	O
anti-copyright	O
movement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
's	O
founders	O
(	O
Peter	O
Sunde	O
,	O
Fredrik	O
Neij	O
,	O
and	O
Gottfrid	O
Svartholm	O
)	O
were	O
found	O
guilty	O
in	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
trial	O
in	O
Sweden	O
for	O
assisting	O
in	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
and	O
were	O
sentenced	O
to	O
serve	O
one	O
year	O
in	O
prison	O
and	O
pay	O
a	O
fine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequently	O
,	O
proxy	B-Application
websites	I-Application
have	O
been	O
providing	O
access	O
to	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
established	O
in	O
September	O
2003	O
by	O
the	O
Swedish	O
anti-copyright	O
organisation	O
Piratbyrån	O
(	O
)	O
;	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
run	O
as	O
a	O
separate	O
organisation	O
since	O
October	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
first	O
run	O
by	O
Gottfrid	O
Svartholm	O
and	O
Fredrik	O
Neij	O
,	O
who	O
are	O
known	O
by	O
their	O
nicknames	O
"	O
anakata	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
TiAMO	O
"	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
31	O
May	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
's	O
servers	B-Application
in	O
Stockholm	O
were	O
raided	O
and	O
taken	O
away	O
by	O
Swedish	O
police	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
three	O
days	O
of	O
downtime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
claims	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
non-profit	O
entity	O
based	O
in	O
the	O
Seychelles	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
this	O
is	O
disputed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
has	O
been	O
involved	O
in	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
lawsuits	O
,	O
both	O
as	O
plaintiff	O
and	O
as	O
defendant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
hosted	O
for	O
several	O
years	O
by	O
PRQ	B-Application
,	O
a	O
Sweden-based	O
company	O
,	O
owned	O
by	O
creators	O
of	O
TPB	O
Gottfrid	O
Svartholm	O
and	O
Fredrik	O
Neij	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PRQ	B-Application
is	O
said	O
to	O
provide	O
"	O
highly	O
secure	O
,	O
no-questions-asked	O
hosting	O
services	O
to	O
its	O
customers	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
May	O
2011	O
,	O
Serious	O
Tubes	O
Networks	O
started	O
providing	O
network	O
connectivity	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2012	O
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
's	O
newly	O
inaugurated	O
"	O
Transparency	O
Report	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
reported	O
over	O
6,000	O
formal	O
requests	O
to	O
remove	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
links	O
from	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Search	I-Application
index	O
;	O
those	O
requests	O
covered	O
over	O
80,500	O
URLs	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
five	O
copyright	O
holders	O
having	O
the	O
most	O
requests	O
consisting	O
of	O
:	O
Froytal	O
Services	O
LLC	O
,	O
Bang	O
Bros	O
,	O
Takedown	O
Piracy	O
LLC	O
,	O
Amateur	O
Teen	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
and	O
International	O
Federation	O
of	O
the	O
Phonographic	O
Industry	O
(	O
IFPI	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
10	O
August	O
2013	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
announced	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
PirateBrowser	B-Application
,	O
a	O
free	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
used	O
to	O
circumvent	O
internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
visited	O
torrent	B-Protocol
directory	O
on	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
from	O
2003	O
until	O
November	O
2014	O
,	O
when	O
KickassTorrents	O
had	O
more	O
visitors	O
according	O
to	O
Alexa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
8	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
removed	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
apps	O
from	O
its	O
app	B-Application
store	I-Application
that	O
have	O
"	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
"	O
in	O
the	O
title	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
9	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
raided	O
by	O
the	O
Swedish	O
police	O
,	O
who	O
seized	O
servers	B-Application
,	O
computers	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
other	O
torrent	B-Protocol
related	O
sites	O
including	O
EZTV	O
,	O
Zoink	O
,	O
Torrage	O
and	O
the	O
Istole	O
tracker	B-Protocol
were	O
also	O
shut	O
down	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
forum	O
Suprbay.org	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
second	O
day	O
after	O
the	O
raid	O
EZTV	O
was	O
reported	O
to	O
be	O
showing	O
"	O
signs	O
of	O
life	O
"	O
with	O
uploads	O
to	O
ExtraTorrent	O
and	O
KickassTorrents	O
and	O
supporting	O
proxy	B-Application
sites	I-Application
like	O
eztv-proxy.net	O
via	O
the	O
main	O
website	O
's	O
backend	O
IP	O
addresses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
copies	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
went	O
online	O
during	O
the	O
next	O
several	O
days	O
,	O
most	O
notably	O
oldpiratebay.org,	O
created	O
by	O
isoHunt	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
19	O
May	O
2015	O
,	O
the	O
.se	B-General_Concept
domain	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
ordered	O
to	O
be	O
seized	O
following	O
a	O
ruling	O
by	O
a	O
Swedish	O
court	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
US	O
government	O
shut	O
down	O
KickassTorrents	O
,	O
which	O
resulted	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
becoming	O
once	O
again	O
the	O
most	O
visited	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
allows	O
users	O
to	O
search	O
for	O
Magnet	B-Protocol
links	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
reference	O
resources	O
available	O
for	O
download	O
via	O
peer-to-peer	O
networks	O
which	O
,	O
when	O
opened	O
in	O
a	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	O
,	O
begin	O
downloading	O
the	O
desired	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Originally	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
download	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
files	O
(	O
torrents	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
small	O
files	O
that	O
contain	O
metadata	O
necessary	O
to	O
download	O
the	O
data	O
files	O
from	O
other	O
users	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
torrents	B-Protocol
are	O
organised	O
into	O
categories	O
:	O
"	O
Audio	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Video	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Applications	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Games	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Porn	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
Other	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Registration	O
requires	O
an	O
email	O
address	O
and	O
is	O
free	O
;	O
registered	O
users	O
may	O
upload	O
their	O
own	O
torrents	B-Protocol
and	O
comment	O
on	O
torrents	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Registration	O
for	O
new	O
users	O
was	O
closed	O
in	O
May	O
2019	O
following	O
problems	O
with	O
the	O
uploading	O
of	O
malware	O
torrents	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
January	O
2012	O
,	O
it	O
also	O
features	O
a	O
"	O
Physibles	B-Application
"	O
category	O
for	O
3D-printable	O
objects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Piratbyrån	O
described	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
as	O
a	O
long-running	O
project	O
of	O
performance	O
art	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Normally	O
,	O
the	O
front	O
page	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
featured	O
a	O
drawing	O
of	O
a	O
pirate	O
ship	O
with	O
the	O
logo	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
anti-copyright	O
infringement	O
campaign	O
,	O
"	O
Home	O
Taping	O
Is	O
Killing	O
Music	O
"	O
,	O
on	O
its	O
sails	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
Jolly	B-Application
Roger	I-Application
symbol	O
usually	O
associated	O
with	O
pirate	O
ships	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
four	O
Linux	B-Application
servers	B-Application
ran	O
a	O
custom	O
web	B-Application
server	I-Application
called	O
Hypercube	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
old	O
version	O
is	O
open-source	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
1	O
June	O
2005	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
updated	O
its	O
website	O
in	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
reduce	O
bandwidth	O
usage	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
reported	O
to	O
be	O
at	O
2	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
requests	I-Protocol
per	O
millisecond	O
on	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
web	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
more	O
user	O
friendly	O
interface	O
for	O
the	O
front-end	B-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
now	O
runs	O
Lighttpd	B-Protocol
and	O
PHP	B-Application
on	O
its	O
dynamic	O
front	O
ends	O
,	O
MySQL	B-Application
at	O
the	O
database	O
back	O
end	O
,	O
Sphinx	B-Application
on	O
the	O
two	O
search	O
systems	O
,	O
memcached	B-Application
for	O
caching	O
SQL	O
queries	O
and	O
PHP-sessions	O
and	O
Varnish	B-Language
in	O
front	O
of	O
Lighttpd	B-Protocol
for	O
caching	O
static	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
consisted	O
of	O
31	O
dedicated	O
servers	B-Application
including	O
nine	O
dynamic	O
web	O
fronts	O
,	O
a	O
database	O
,	O
two	O
search	O
engines	O
,	O
and	O
eight	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
trackers	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
7	O
December	O
2007	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
finished	O
the	O
move	O
from	O
Hypercube	O
to	O
Opentracker	B-Language
as	O
its	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
tracking	O
software	O
,	O
also	O
enabling	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
UDP	B-Protocol
tracker	B-Protocol
protocol	O
for	O
which	O
Hypercube	O
lacked	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
UDP	B-Protocol
multicast	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
synchronise	O
the	O
multiple	O
servers	B-Application
with	O
each	O
other	O
much	O
faster	O
than	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Opentracker	B-Language
is	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2008	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
announced	O
that	O
their	O
servers	B-Application
would	O
support	O
SSL	B-Protocol
encryption	I-Protocol
in	O
response	O
to	O
Sweden	O
's	O
new	O
wiretapping	O
law	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
19	O
January	O
2009	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
launched	O
IPv6	B-Protocol
support	O
for	O
their	O
tracker	B-Protocol
system	O
,	O
using	O
an	O
IPv6-only	O
version	O
of	O
Opentracker	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
17	O
November	O
2009	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
shut	O
off	O
its	O
tracker	B-Protocol
service	O
permanently	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
centralised	O
trackers	B-Protocol
are	O
no	O
longer	O
needed	O
since	O
distributed	B-Operating_System
hash	I-Operating_System
tables	I-Operating_System
(	O
DHT	O
)	O
,	O
peer	O
exchange	O
(	O
PEX	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
magnet	B-Protocol
links	I-Protocol
allow	O
peers	O
to	O
find	O
each	O
other	O
and	O
content	O
in	O
a	O
decentralised	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
20	O
February	O
2012	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
announced	O
in	O
a	O
Facebook	B-Application
post	I-Application
that	O
after	O
29	O
February	O
the	O
site	O
would	O
no	O
longer	O
offer	O
torrent	B-Protocol
files	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
instead	O
offer	O
only	O
magnet	B-Protocol
links	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
commented	O
:	O
"	O
Not	O
having	O
torrents	B-Protocol
will	O
be	O
a	O
bit	O
cheaper	O
for	O
us	O
but	O
it	O
will	O
also	O
make	O
it	O
harder	O
for	O
our	O
common	O
enemies	O
to	O
stop	O
us.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
added	O
that	O
torrents	B-Protocol
being	O
shared	O
by	O
fewer	O
than	O
ten	O
people	O
will	O
retain	O
their	O
torrent	B-Protocol
files	O
,	O
to	O
ensure	O
compatibility	O
with	O
older	O
software	O
that	O
may	O
not	O
support	O
magnet	B-Protocol
links	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2007	O
,	O
a	O
rumour	O
was	O
confirmed	O
on	O
the	O
Swedish	O
talk	O
show	O
Bert	O
that	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
had	O
received	O
financial	O
support	O
from	O
right-wing	O
entrepreneur	O
Carl	O
Lundström	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
talk	O
show	O
,	O
Piratbyrån	O
spokesman	O
Tobias	O
Andersson	O
acknowledged	O
that	O
"	O
without	O
Lundström	O
's	O
support	O
,	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
would	O
not	O
have	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
start	O
"	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
money	O
went	O
towards	O
acquiring	O
servers	B-Application
and	O
bandwidth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
2004	O
until	O
2006	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
had	O
a	O
"	O
Donate	O
"	O
link	O
to	O
a	O
donations	O
page	O
which	O
listed	O
several	O
payment	O
methods	O
,	O
stated	O
that	O
funds	O
supported	O
only	O
the	O
tracker	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
offered	O
time-limited	O
benefits	O
to	O
donors	O
such	O
as	O
no	O
advertisements	O
and	O
"	O
VIP	O
"	O
status	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
,	O
Petter	O
Nilsson	O
,	O
a	O
candidate	O
on	O
the	O
Swedish	O
political	O
reality	O
show	O
Toppkandidaterna	O
(	O
The	O
Top	O
Candidates	O
)	O
,	O
donated	O
35,000	O
Swedish	O
kronor	O
(	O
US$	O
4,925	O
.83	O
)	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
which	O
they	O
used	O
to	O
buy	O
new	O
servers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
published	O
its	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
address	O
on	O
the	O
site	O
front	O
page	O
for	O
donations	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
investigation	O
in	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
police	O
concluded	O
that	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
brings	O
in	O
1.2million	O
kronor	O
( $	O
169,000	O
)	O
per	O
year	O
from	O
advertisements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
IFPI	O
claims	O
that	O
the	O
website	O
is	O
extremely	O
profitable	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
is	O
more	O
engaged	O
in	O
making	O
profit	O
than	O
supporting	O
people	O
's	O
rights	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
he	O
says	O
,	O
may	O
ultimately	O
be	O
operating	O
at	O
a	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
an	O
online	O
ad	O
agency	O
placed	O
Wal-Mart	O
The	B-Application
Simpsons	I-Application
DVD	O
ads	O
"	O
along	O
with	O
search	O
results	O
that	O
included	O
downloads	O
of	O
the	O
series	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
embedded	O
scripts	O
on	O
its	O
website	O
that	O
would	O
consume	O
resources	O
on	O
visitors	O
 '	O
computers	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
mine	O
the	O
Monero	O
cryptocurrency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
behind	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
has	O
worked	O
on	O
several	O
websites	O
and	O
software	O
projects	O
of	O
varying	O
degrees	O
of	O
permanence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
,	O
"	O
within	O
hours	O
after	O
Ingmar	O
Bergman	O
's	O
death	O
"	O
,	O
BergmanBits.com	O
was	O
launched	O
,	O
listing	O
torrents	B-Protocol
for	O
the	O
director	O
's	O
films	O
,	O
online	O
until	O
mid-2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
relaunched	O
the	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
website	O
Suprnova.org	O
to	O
perform	O
the	O
same	O
functions	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
with	O
different	O
torrent	B-Protocol
trackers	I-Protocol
,	O
but	O
the	O
site	O
languished	O
;	O
the	O
domain	O
was	O
returned	O
to	O
its	O
original	O
owner	O
in	O
August	O
2010	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
now	O
redirects	O
to	O
TorrentFreak.tv	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suprbay.org	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
August	O
as	O
the	O
official	O
forum	O
for	O
ThePirateBay.org	B-Application
and	O
the	O
various	O
sites	O
connected	O
to	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
request	O
reseeding	O
of	O
torrents	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
report	O
malware	O
within	O
torrent	B-Protocol
files	O
or	O
illegal	O
material	O
on	O
ThePirateBay.org	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
BOiNK	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
October	O
2007	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
raid	O
on	O
Oink	O
's	O
Pink	O
Palace	O
,	O
a	O
music-oriented	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
dashboard	B-Application
widget	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
December	O
,	O
listing	O
"	O
top	O
10	O
stuff	O
currently	O
on	O
TPB	O
,	O
either	O
per	O
category	O
or	O
the	O
full	O
list	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
resurrected	O
ShareReactor	O
as	O
a	O
combined	O
eD2k	O
and	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
the	O
Vio	O
mobile	O
video	O
converter	O
was	O
released	O
,	O
designed	O
to	O
convert	O
video	O
files	O
for	O
playback	O
on	O
mobile	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
iPhone	B-Device
,	O
BlackBerry	B-Operating_System
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
many	O
Nokia	O
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Video	O
Bay	O
video	O
streaming/sharing	O
site	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
June	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
The	O
YouTube	O
Killer	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
content	O
viewable	O
in	O
HTML	O
5-capable	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
18	O
April	O
2011	O
,	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
temporarily	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
"	O
Research	O
Bay	O
"	O
,	O
collaborating	O
with	O
P2P	O
researchers	O
of	O
the	O
Lund	O
University	O
Cybernorms	O
group	O
in	O
a	O
large	O
poll	O
of	O
P2P	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2007	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
micronation	O
of	O
Sealand	O
was	O
put	O
up	O
for	O
sale	O
,	O
the	O
ACFI	O
and	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
tried	O
to	O
buy	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sealand	O
government	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
did	O
not	O
want	O
to	O
be	O
involved	O
with	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
their	O
opinion	O
that	O
file	O
sharing	O
represented	O
"	O
theft	O
of	O
proprietary	O
rights	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
P2P	O
news	O
blog	O
TorrentFreak	O
reported	O
on	O
12	O
October	O
2007	O
that	O
the	O
Internet	O
domain	O
ifpi.com,	O
which	O
previously	O
belonged	O
to	O
the	O
International	O
Federation	O
of	O
the	O
Phonographic	O
Industry	O
,	O
an	O
anti-piracy	O
organisation	O
,	O
had	O
been	O
acquired	O
by	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
was	O
renamed	O
"	O
The	O
International	O
Federation	O
of	O
Pirates	O
Interests	O
"	O
However	O
,	O
the	O
IFPI	O
filed	O
a	O
complaint	O
with	O
the	O
World	O
Intellectual	O
Property	O
Organization	O
shortly	O
thereafter	O
,	O
which	O
subsequently	O
ordered	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
to	O
return	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
to	O
the	O
IFPI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
12	O
May	O
2021	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
launched	O
Pirate	O
Token	O
,	O
a	O
BEP-20	O
token	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
31	O
May	O
2006	O
,	O
a	O
raid	O
against	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
and	O
people	O
involved	O
with	O
the	O
website	O
took	O
place	O
as	O
ordered	O
by	O
Swedish	O
judge	O
Tomas	O
Norström	O
,	O
later	O
the	O
presiding	O
judge	O
of	O
the	O
2009	O
trial	O
,	O
prompted	O
by	O
allegations	O
of	O
copyright	O
violations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Police	O
officers	O
shut	O
down	O
the	O
website	O
and	O
confiscated	O
its	O
servers	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
all	O
other	O
servers	B-Application
hosted	O
by	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
Internet	O
service	O
provider	O
,	O
PRQ	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
is	O
owned	O
by	O
two	O
operators	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
servers	B-Application
in	O
the	O
room	O
were	O
seized	O
,	O
including	O
those	O
running	O
the	O
website	O
of	O
Piratbyrån	O
,	O
an	O
independent	O
organisation	O
fighting	O
for	O
file	O
sharing	O
rights	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
servers	B-Application
unrelated	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
or	O
other	O
file	O
sharing	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MPAA	O
CEO	O
Dan	O
Glickman	O
also	O
stated	O
,	O
"	O
Intellectual	O
property	O
theft	O
is	O
a	O
problem	O
for	O
film	O
industries	O
all	O
over	O
the	O
world	O
and	O
we	O
are	O
glad	O
that	O
the	O
local	O
government	O
in	O
Sweden	O
has	O
helped	O
stop	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
from	O
continuing	O
to	O
enable	O
rampant	O
copyright	O
theft	O
on	O
the	O
Internet.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
also	O
reprinted	O
John	O
G	O
.	O
Malcolm	O
's	O
allegation	O
that	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
making	O
money	O
from	O
the	O
distribution	O
of	O
copyrighted	O
material	O
,	O
a	O
criticism	O
denied	O
by	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
raid	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
displayed	O
a	O
message	O
that	O
confirmed	O
that	O
the	O
Swedish	O
police	O
had	O
executed	O
search	O
warrants	O
for	O
breach	O
of	O
copyright	O
law	O
or	O
assisting	O
such	O
a	O
breach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
closure	O
message	O
initially	O
caused	O
some	O
confusion	O
because	O
on	O
1	O
April	O
2005	O
,	O
April	O
Fools	O
 '	O
Day	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
had	O
posted	O
a	O
similar	O
message	O
as	O
a	O
prank	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
unavailable	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
raid	O
by	O
the	O
Swedish	O
Anti-Piracy	O
Bureau	O
and	O
IFPI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
2	O
June	O
2006	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
available	O
once	O
again	O
,	O
with	O
their	O
logo	O
depicting	O
a	O
pirate	O
ship	O
firing	O
cannonballs	O
at	O
the	O
Hollywood	O
Sign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
has	O
servers	B-Application
in	O
both	O
Belgium	O
and	O
Russia	O
for	O
future	O
use	O
in	O
case	O
of	O
another	O
raid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
in	O
the	O
two	O
years	O
following	O
the	O
raid	O
,	O
it	O
grew	O
from	O
1million	O
to	O
2.7million	O
registered	O
users	O
and	O
from	O
2.5million	O
to	O
12million	O
peers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
now	O
claims	O
over	O
5million	O
active	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sweden	O
's	O
largest	O
technology	O
museum	O
,	O
the	O
Swedish	O
National	O
Museum	O
of	O
Science	O
and	O
Technology	O
,	O
acquired	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
confiscated	O
servers	B-Application
in	O
2009	O
and	O
exhibited	O
it	O
for	O
having	O
great	O
symbolic	O
value	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
big	O
problem	O
or	O
a	O
big	O
opportunity	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
Swedish	O
media	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
public	O
preliminary	O
investigation	O
protocols	O
concerning	O
a	O
child	O
murder	O
case	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Arboga	O
case	O
had	O
been	O
made	O
available	O
through	O
a	O
torrent	B-Protocol
on	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
refused	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
torrent	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
caused	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
to	O
suspend	O
all	O
of	O
its	O
press	O
contacts	O
the	O
following	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
I	O
do	O
n't	O
think	O
it	O
's	O
our	O
job	O
to	O
judge	O
if	O
something	O
is	O
ethical	O
or	O
unethical	O
or	O
what	O
other	O
people	O
want	O
to	O
put	O
out	O
on	O
the	O
internet	O
"	O
,	O
said	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
spokesperson	O
Peter	O
Sunde	O
to	O
TV4	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2007	O
,	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
internal	O
emails	O
were	O
leaked	O
from	O
anti-piracy	O
company	O
MediaDefender	O
by	O
an	O
anonymous	B-Algorithm
hacker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
leaked	O
emails	O
discussed	O
hiring	O
hackers	O
to	O
perform	O
DDoS	O
attacks	O
on	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
servers	B-Application
and	O
trackers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
leak	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
filed	O
charges	O
in	O
Sweden	O
against	O
MediaDefender	O
clients	O
Twentieth	O
Century	O
Fox	O
Sweden	O
AB	O
,	O
EMI	O
Sweden	O
AB	O
,	O
Universal	O
Music	O
Group	O
Sweden	O
AB	O
,	O
Universal	O
Pictures	O
Nordic	O
AB	O
,	O
Paramount	O
Home	O
Entertainment	O
(	O
Sweden	O
)	O
AB	O
,	O
Atari	O
Nordic	O
AB	O
,	O
Activision	O
Nordic	O
,	O
Ubisoft	O
Sweden	O
AB	O
,	O
Sony	O
BMG	O
Music	O
Entertainment	O
(	O
Sweden	O
)	O
AB	O
,	O
and	O
Sony	O
Pictures	O
Home	O
Entertainment	O
Nordic	O
AB	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
charges	O
were	O
not	O
pursued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
co-founder	O
Peter	O
Sunde	O
accused	O
police	O
investigator	O
Jim	O
Keyzer	O
of	O
a	O
conflict	O
of	O
interest	O
when	O
he	O
declined	O
to	O
investigate	O
MediaDefender	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
leaked	O
emails	O
revealed	O
that	O
other	O
MPAA	O
member	O
studios	O
hired	O
MediaDefender	O
to	O
pollute	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
torrent	B-Protocol
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
official	O
letter	O
to	O
the	O
Swedish	O
Minister	O
of	O
Justice	O
,	O
the	O
International	O
Olympic	O
Committee	O
(	O
IOC	O
)	O
requested	O
assistance	O
from	O
the	O
Swedish	O
government	O
to	O
prevent	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
from	O
distributing	O
video	O
clips	O
of	O
the	O
Beijing	O
Olympics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
however	O
,	O
did	O
not	O
take	O
anything	O
down	O
,	O
and	O
temporarily	O
renamed	O
the	O
website	O
to	O
The	O
Beijing	O
Bay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
trial	O
against	O
the	O
men	O
behind	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
started	O
in	O
Sweden	O
on	O
16	O
February	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Half	O
the	O
charges	O
against	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
were	O
dropped	O
on	O
the	O
second	O
day	O
of	O
the	O
trial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
13	O
May	O
2009	O
,	O
several	O
record	O
companies	O
again	O
sued	O
Neij	O
,	O
Svartholm	O
,	O
Sunde	O
and	O
also	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
main	O
internet	O
service	O
provider	O
Black	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
required	O
enforcement	O
for	O
ending	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
accessory	O
to	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
that	O
had	O
not	O
stopped	O
despite	O
the	O
court	O
order	O
in	O
April	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
complaint	O
listed	O
several	O
pages	O
of	O
works	O
being	O
shared	O
with	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
was	O
notified	O
of	O
the	O
order	O
on	O
24	O
August	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
complied	O
with	O
it	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
day	O
by	O
disconnecting	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Sweden	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
judgment	O
did	O
not	O
order	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
to	O
be	O
disconnected	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
ISP	O
had	O
no	O
other	O
option	O
for	O
stopping	O
the	O
activity	O
on	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pirate	B-Application
Party	I-Application
leader	O
Rickard	O
Falkvinge	O
submitted	O
the	O
case	O
for	O
Parliamentary	O
Ombudsman	O
review	O
,	O
criticising	O
the	O
court	O
's	O
order	O
to	O
make	O
intermediaries	O
responsible	O
for	O
relayed	O
content	O
and	O
to	O
assign	O
active	O
crime	O
prevention	O
tasks	O
to	O
a	O
private	O
party	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
28	O
October	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
Stockholm	O
District	O
Court	O
ordered	O
a	O
temporary	O
injunction	O
on	O
Neij	O
and	O
Svartholm	O
with	O
a	O
penalty	O
of	O
500,000	O
kronor	O
each	O
,	O
forbidding	O
them	O
from	O
participating	O
in	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
website	O
or	O
trackers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
2	O
September	O
2012	O
,	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
co-founder	O
Gottfrid	O
Svartholm	O
Warg	O
was	O
arrested	O
in	O
Cambodia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2013	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
claimed	O
in	O
a	O
blog	O
post	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
moved	O
its	O
servers	B-Application
to	O
North	O
Korea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2013	O
,	O
within	O
a	O
week	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
had	O
moved	O
its	O
servers	B-Application
from	O
Greenland	O
to	O
Iceland	O
to	O
St.	O
Martin	O
,	O
either	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
legal	O
threats	O
or	O
preemptively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2013	O
,	O
the	O
site	O
changed	O
its	O
domain	O
to	O
.ac	B-General_Concept
(	O
Ascension	O
Island	O
)	O
,	O
following	O
the	O
seizure	O
of	O
the	O
.sx	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
site	O
's	O
suspension	O
from	O
the	O
.gy	O
domain	O
,	O
on	O
19	O
December	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
returned	O
to	O
.se	B-General_Concept
(	O
Sweden	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
it	O
had	O
previously	O
occupied	O
between	O
February	O
2012	O
and	O
April	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
trial	O
was	O
a	O
joint	O
criminal	O
and	O
civil	O
prosecution	O
in	O
Sweden	O
of	O
four	O
individuals	O
charged	O
for	O
promoting	O
the	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
of	O
others	O
with	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
criminal	O
charges	O
were	O
supported	O
by	O
a	O
consortium	O
of	O
intellectual	O
rights	O
holders	O
led	O
by	O
IFPI	O
,	O
who	O
filed	O
individual	O
civil	O
compensation	O
claims	O
against	O
the	O
owners	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
case	O
involving	O
music	O
files	O
was	O
later	O
dropped	O
by	O
the	O
copyright	O
holder	O
who	O
made	O
the	O
file	O
available	O
again	O
on	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
1	O
February	O
2012	O
,	O
the	O
Supreme	O
Court	O
of	O
Sweden	O
refused	O
to	O
hear	O
an	O
appeal	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
,	O
prompting	O
the	O
site	O
to	O
change	O
its	O
official	O
domain	O
name	O
to	O
thepiratebay.se	B-Application
from	O
thepiratebay.org	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
move	O
to	O
a	O
.se	B-General_Concept
domain	O
was	O
claimed	O
to	O
prevent	O
susceptibility	O
to	O
US	O
laws	O
from	O
taking	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
9	O
April	O
2013	O
,	O
the	O
site	O
changed	O
its	O
domain	O
name	O
to	O
thepiratebay.gl,	O
under	O
the	O
Greenland	O
TLD	O
,	O
in	O
anticipation	O
of	O
possible	O
seizure	O
by	O
Swedish	O
authorities	O
of	O
its	O
.se	B-General_Concept
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
change	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
short	O
lived	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
site	O
returned	O
to	O
the	O
.se	B-General_Concept
domain	O
on	O
12	O
April	O
2013	O
after	O
being	O
blocked	B-Application
on	O
the	O
.gl	O
domain	O
by	O
Tele-Post	O
,	O
which	O
administers	O
domains	O
in	O
Greenland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2007	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
attacked	O
by	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
hackers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
claimed	O
to	O
its	O
users	O
that	O
the	O
data	O
was	O
of	O
no	O
value	O
and	O
that	O
passwords	O
and	O
e-mails	O
were	O
encrypted	O
and	O
hashed	B-Error_Name
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
27	O
April	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
had	O
fibre	B-Application
IPv4	B-Protocol
connectivity	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
and	O
its	O
forums	O
were	O
still	O
available	O
via	O
IPv6	B-Protocol
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
24	O
August	O
2009	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
upstream	O
providers	O
was	O
ordered	O
to	O
discontinue	O
service	O
for	O
the	O
website	O
by	O
a	O
Swedish	O
court	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
a	O
civil	O
action	O
brought	O
by	O
several	O
entertainment	O
companies	O
including	O
Disney	O
,	O
Universal	O
,	O
Time	O
Warner	O
,	O
Columbia	O
,	O
Sony	O
,	O
NBC	O
,	O
and	O
Paramount	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
6	O
October	O
2009	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
IP	O
transit	O
providers	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
blocked	B-Application
all	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
traffic	O
causing	O
an	O
outage	O
for	O
most	O
users	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
not	O
known	O
whether	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
is	O
actually	O
located	O
at	O
CyberBunker	O
or	O
whether	O
they	O
are	O
using	O
the	O
CyberBunker	O
service	O
that	O
routes	O
CyberBunker	O
IP	O
addresses	O
to	O
any	O
datacenter	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CyberBunker	O
was	O
given	O
a	O
court	O
injunction	O
on	O
17	O
May	O
2010	O
,	O
taking	O
the	O
site	O
offline	O
briefly	O
;	O
later	O
that	O
day	O
,	O
hosting	O
was	O
restored	O
by	O
Sweden	O
's	O
Pirate	B-Application
Party	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Former	O
spokesman	O
for	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
Peter	O
Sunde	O
,	O
commented	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
now	O
be	O
very	O
difficult	O
to	O
stop	O
the	O
site	O
because	O
it	O
would	O
now	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
political	O
censorship	O
if	O
anyone	O
tries	O
to	O
shut	O
it	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
8	O
July	O
2010	O
,	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
Argentine	O
hackers	O
gained	O
access	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
administration	O
panel	O
through	O
a	O
security	O
breach	O
via	O
the	O
backend	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
delete	O
torrents	B-Protocol
and	O
expose	O
users	O
 '	O
IP-addresses	O
,	O
emails	O
and	O
MD5-hashed	O
passwords	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
taken	O
offline	O
for	O
upgrades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
16	O
May	O
2012	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
experienced	O
a	O
major	O
DDoS	O
attack	O
,	O
causing	O
the	O
site	O
to	O
be	O
largely	O
inaccessible	O
worldwide	O
for	O
around	O
24hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
said	O
that	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
know	O
who	O
was	O
behind	O
the	O
attack	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
"	O
had	O
its	O
suspicions	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
5	O
May	O
2015	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
went	O
offline	O
for	O
several	O
hours	O
,	O
apparently	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
not	O
properly	O
configuring	O
its	O
SSL	B-Protocol
certificate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
founders	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
profits	O
from	O
the	O
sale	O
would	O
be	O
placed	O
in	O
an	O
offshore	O
account	O
where	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
fund	O
projects	O
pertaining	O
to	O
"	O
freedom	O
of	O
speech	O
,	O
freedom	O
of	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
openness	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Global	O
Gaming	O
Chief	O
Executive	O
Hans	O
Pandeya	O
commented	O
on	O
the	O
site	O
's	O
future	O
by	O
saying	O
"	O
We	O
would	O
like	O
to	O
introduce	O
models	O
which	O
entail	O
that	O
content	O
providers	O
and	O
copyright	O
owners	O
get	O
paid	O
for	O
content	O
that	O
is	O
downloaded	O
via	O
the	O
site	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
announced	O
that	O
users	O
would	O
be	O
charged	O
a	O
monthly	O
fee	O
for	O
access	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
9	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
police	O
in	O
Stockholm	O
raided	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
premises	O
and	O
seized	O
servers	B-Application
and	O
other	O
computers	O
and	O
equipment	O
,	O
which	O
resulted	O
in	O
the	O
website	O
going	O
offline	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
many	O
peer-to-peer	O
and	O
torrent-related	O
websites	O
and	O
apps	O
that	O
went	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torrent	B-Protocol
Freak	O
reported	O
that	O
most	O
other	O
torrent	B-Protocol
sites	I-Protocol
reported	O
a	O
5	O
–	O
10%	O
increase	O
in	O
traffic	O
from	O
the	O
displaced	O
users	O
,	O
though	O
the	O
shutdown	O
had	O
little	O
effect	O
on	O
overall	O
piracy	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
retaliation	O
to	O
the	O
raid	O
,	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
hackers	O
claiming	O
to	O
be	O
part	O
of	O
Anonymous	B-Algorithm
allegedly	O
leaked	O
email	O
log-in	O
details	O
of	O
Swedish	O
government	O
officials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
co-founder	O
Peter	O
Sunde	O
commented	O
in	O
a	O
blog	O
post	O
that	O
he	O
was	O
happy	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
website	O
shut	O
down	O
,	O
believing	O
his	O
successors	O
have	O
done	O
nothing	O
to	O
improve	O
the	O
site	O
,	O
criticising	O
in	O
particular	O
the	O
increased	O
use	O
of	O
advertisements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IsoHunt	O
has	O
since	O
copied	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
TPB	O
database	O
and	O
made	O
it	O
accessible	O
through	O
oldpiratebay.org,	O
a	O
searchable	O
index	O
of	O
old	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
torrents	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
IsoHunt	O
also	O
released	O
a	O
tool	O
called	O
The	O
Open	O
Bay	O
,	O
to	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
deploy	O
their	O
own	O
version	O
of	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
17	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
Facebook	B-Application
page	O
has	O
been	O
unavailable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
22	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
a	O
website	O
was	O
resumed	O
at	O
the	O
domain	O
thepiratebay.se,	O
showing	O
a	O
flip	O
clock	O
with	O
the	O
length	O
of	O
time	O
in	O
days	O
and	O
hours	O
that	O
the	O
site	O
had	O
been	O
offline	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
waving	O
pirate	O
flag	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
this	O
day	O
TPB	O
was	O
hosted	O
for	O
a	O
period	O
in	O
Moldova	O
,	O
on	O
Trabia	O
Network	O
(	O
Moldo-German	O
company	O
)	O
servers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
then	O
began	O
using	O
the	O
services	O
of	O
CloudFlare	B-Application
,	O
a	O
company	O
which	O
offers	O
reverse	B-General_Concept
proxy	I-General_Concept
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
returned	O
with	O
a	O
prominent	O
phoenix	O
logo	O
displayed	O
at	O
the	O
domain	O
thepiratebay.se	B-Application
on	O
31	O
January	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
in	O
October	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
clearnet	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
website	O
started	O
to	O
be	O
inaccessible	O
in	O
some	O
locations	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
showing	O
Error	O
522	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
site	O
's	O
Tor	B-Application
domain	O
and	O
proxies	B-Application
remained	O
unaffected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
one	O
month	O
,	O
the	O
site	O
's	O
functionality	O
was	O
restored	O
with	O
an	O
update	O
of	O
the	O
domain	O
records	O
and	O
the	O
Cloudflare	B-Application
nameservers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
has	O
sparked	O
controversies	O
and	O
discussion	O
about	O
legal	O
aspects	O
of	O
file	O
sharing	O
,	O
copyright	O
,	O
and	O
civil	O
liberties	O
and	O
has	O
become	O
a	O
platform	O
for	O
political	O
initiatives	O
against	O
established	O
intellectual	O
property	O
laws	O
and	O
a	O
central	O
figure	O
in	O
an	O
anti-copyright	O
movement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
's	O
website	O
has	O
been	O
blocked	B-Application
in	O
some	O
countries	O
,	O
despite	O
the	O
relative	O
ease	O
by	O
which	O
such	O
blocks	B-Application
can	I-Application
be	I-Application
circumvented	I-Application
in	O
most	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
URL	O
to	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
itself	O
has	O
been	O
blocked	B-Application
in	O
these	O
countries	O
,	O
numerous	O
mirror	O
websites	O
emerged	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
website	O
available	O
at	O
different	O
URLs	O
,	O
routing	O
traffic	O
around	O
the	O
block	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
chairman	O
Eric	O
Schmidt	O
,	O
"	O
government	O
plans	O
to	O
block	O
access	O
to	O
illicit	O
filesharing	O
websites	O
could	O
set	O
a	O
'	O
disastrous	O
precedent	O
 '	O
for	O
freedom	O
of	O
speech	O
"	O
;	O
he	O
also	O
expressed	O
that	O
Google	B-Application
would	O
"	O
fight	O
attempts	O
to	O
restrict	O
access	O
to	O
sites	O
such	O
as	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
13	O
February	O
2017	O
,	O
Sweden	O
's	O
Patent	O
and	O
Market	O
Court	O
of	O
Appeal	O
decided	O
that	O
the	O
broadband	O
provider	O
Bredbandsbolaget	O
must	O
block	O
its	O
customers	O
from	O
accessing	O
file	O
sharing	O
site	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
overruling	O
a	O
district	O
court	O
ruling	O
to	O
the	O
contrary	O
from	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
a	O
site	O
was	O
openly	O
blocked	B-Application
in	O
Sweden	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ISP	O
Telia	O
was	O
mandated	O
to	O
block	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
bay	I-Application
through	O
a	O
dynamic	O
injunction	O
on	O
12	O
December	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
that	O
when	O
the	O
rights	O
holders	O
find	O
a	O
website	O
(	O
IP	O
and	O
URL	O
for	O
the	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
)	O
they	O
can	O
inform	O
Telia	O
who	O
are	O
legally	O
required	O
to	O
block	O
it	O
in	O
2-3	O
weeks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
introduced	O
a	O
feature	O
in	O
March	O
2009	O
to	O
easily	O
share	O
links	O
to	O
torrents	B-Protocol
on	O
the	O
social	O
networking	O
site	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Wired	O
found	O
in	O
May	O
that	O
Facebook	B-Application
had	O
started	O
blocking	O
the	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
further	O
inspection	O
,	O
they	O
discovered	O
that	O
all	O
messages	O
containing	O
links	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
in	O
both	O
public	O
and	O
in	O
private	O
messages	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
content	O
,	O
were	O
being	O
blocked	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	O
Frontier	O
Foundation	O
lawyers	O
commented	O
that	O
Facebook	B-Application
might	O
be	O
working	O
against	O
the	O
US	O
Electronic	O
Communications	O
Privacy	O
Act	O
by	O
intercepting	O
user	O
messages	O
,	O
but	O
Facebook	B-Application
chief	O
privacy	O
officer	O
Chris	O
Kelly	O
said	O
that	O
they	O
have	O
the	O
right	O
to	O
use	O
blocks	O
on	O
links	O
where	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
"	O
demonstrated	O
disregard	O
for	O
intellectual	O
property	O
rights	O
"	O
,	O
following	O
users	O
 '	O
agreement	O
on	O
their	O
terms	O
of	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Links	O
to	O
other	O
similar	O
sites	O
have	O
not	O
been	O
blocked	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2012	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
blocked	B-Application
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
messages	O
containing	O
links	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
user	O
sends	O
an	O
instant	O
message	O
that	O
contains	O
a	O
link	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
prompts	O
a	O
warning	O
and	O
claims	O
"	O
Blocked	B-Application
as	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
unsafe	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
URLs	O
were	O
flagged	O
by	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
of	O
these	O
and	O
were	O
consequently	O
blocked	B-Application
"	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
told	O
The	O
Register	O
in	O
an	O
emailed	O
statement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
is	O
featured	O
in	O
Steal	O
This	O
Film	O
(	O
2006	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
documentary	O
series	O
about	O
society	O
and	O
filesharing	O
,	O
produced	O
by	O
The	B-Application
League	I-Application
of	I-Application
Noble	I-Application
Peers	I-Application
;	O
in	O
the	O
Danish	O
Documentary	O
Good	O
Copy	O
Bad	O
Copy	O
,	O
which	O
explores	O
the	O
issues	O
surrounding	O
file	O
copyright	O
;	O
and	O
the	O
documentary	O
TPB	O
AFK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
has	O
been	O
a	O
topic	O
on	O
the	O
US-syndicated	O
NPR	O
radio	O
show	O
On	O
the	O
Media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Björn	O
Ulvaeus	O
,	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
Swedish	O
pop	O
music	O
group	O
ABBA	O
,	O
criticised	O
copyright	O
infringing	O
activities	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
supporters	O
as	O
"	O
lazy	O
and	O
mean	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coelho	O
supports	O
The	B-Application
Pirate	I-Application
Bay	I-Application
and	O
offered	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
witness	O
in	O
the	O
2009	O
trial	O
.	O
</s>
