Popcorn Time, a Taiwan-based site that once was seen as an existential threat to the likes of Netflix, has shut down. According to the site, its demise was due to a lack of interest.
The site had sidestepped any accusations of piracy because it was a linking site that had not been hosting any content itself.
To justify its linking approach, one of its developers had said “The torrent world was here with millions of users way before us and will be here with BILLIONS of users way after us,” according to Bloomberg reporting in 2015. In other words, there will always be torrenting.
Read full Bloomberg article
Why it matters
Popcorn Time’s demise should not be misconstrued as “the beginning of the end for piracy.” True, that it’s been on the decline in Europe and South Asia, but in Europe, this has been due largely to aggressive law enforcement against copyright infringers. In Asia, a key to success has been site blocking legislation that has effectively cut off supply.
New infringing sources and valuable new content continue to be available illegally
