The largest French website for direct download of content protected by copyright has been closed on Monday by the national gendarmerie. He reappeared on Tuesday.
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Read also : The website Download Area closed by the national gendarmerie
Download Area, what is it ?
This site, which allows you to download movies, series, music, games, video and other content protected by copyright, is considered the most important of its kind in France. It lists the links to download directly the content. The website accounts for on average 3.7 million connections per month and 11 000 visitors per day, according to the forces of law and order. This is the 11e most visited site in France, according to the ranking Alexa. The Sacem (Society of composers, authors and music publishers of canada) estimates that it provides over 2 million direct download links.
How has the site been closed ?
The Sacem has filed a complaint against the site in 2014, joined in stride by the ALPA (Association for the fight against piracy of audiovisual). The survey was conducted by the centre for the fight against crime-digital (C3N) of the national gendarmerie and the research section of Toulouse. Servers were seized in Germany and in Iceland, according to the Sacem. Seven people were arrested in France and Andorra, of which three were remanded in custody, with the cooperation of the police of Andorra, according to Agence France-Presse, which relays the information. the ” further arrests are not excluded “ is specified.
Why is the site suddenly reappeared on Tuesday ?
It’s like the eternal game of cat and mouse between the authorities and the sites providing access to pirated content, which will reappear regularly. The Sacem has announced that two servers had been seized, but the site address has not been assigned. Other administrators, for example, have been able to use it to relaunch the site from a working copy.
What is the profile of the arrested persons ?
The force has not specified. Two of the three persons in police custody would be, according to the Sacem, the administrators of the site, while among the other people arrested would appear members of the family of one of them. ” The two administrators of the site had left France to settle in Andorra, “ specifies David El Sayegh, secretary general of the Sacem. He stresses that ” large seizures of criminal assets have been carried out : luxury cars, real estate, and savings accounts “.
Download Area earn there money ?
Yes. The site displays a lot of publicity, ” often of a pornographic nature “, says the secretary general of the Sacem. Mr. El Sayegh says that Download Area generates € 1.5 million in turnover each year and had offshore accounts located in Malta, Cyprus and Belize. The harm to copyright owners is estimated, according to the national gendarmerie and the Sacem, to € 75 million.
That is likely the administrators of the site ?
These individuals may be up to three years in prison and 300 000 euros fine for counterfeit products. If the charges of counterfeiting and organised are successful, they could be sentenced to seven years imprisonment and a 750,000 euro fine.
people who have done downloads, will they be prosecuted ?
It is not impossible that the IP addresses of people who visited this site may be stored on servers seized, which could allow it to be traced back to them. However, if the secretary-general of the Sacem suggests that he has no plans to sue internet users, it is a reminder that ” hold infringing files, it is fencing stolen goods “. the ” But the primary objective is to attack the evil at its source, and the administrators of the hacker sites, which are trade works. “
” How I watch my movies now ? “
many internet users have expressed their disappointment on social networks on Monday evening, after the announcement of the closure of the site. The nature has horror of the vacuum, it is likely that a new site would take its place if it disappears again – Download Area is, of course, not the only site of its kind, even if it is the most important. That said, in recent years, a number of services now provide a legal supply of quality, such as the iconic Netflix, to which many people look at the price of a monthly subscription, or pay for each video viewed.
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