ISPs Reportedly Raided in 14-Country File-Sharing Bust Targeting P2P Sites
Following a two-year investigation by Belgian police, authorities have reportedly raided Internet service providers in approximately 14 European countries, in an effort to shut down websites that violate copyright laws by facilitating illegal peer-to-peer downloading of games, software and, in particular, movies.
The raids, which focused on “The Scene” in Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Norway, are intended to cripple illegal file-sharing operations rather than simply shift them to other locations on the web, according to the Law & Disorder blog of Ars Technica and TorrentFreak.
Contrary to some reports, the Wikileaks website is not a target of the raids, the Law & Disorder blog post says. However, it appears that the Pirate Bay website may have been.
Agence France-Press reports that 48 sites across Europe were targeted in the raid.
Some individuals may have been taken into custody.
Belgian prosecutors are expected to hold a news conference tomorrow about the raid.
