RARBG explained

RARBG
Country:Bulgaria
Area Served:Worldwide (except for blocked countries)
Type:Torrent index, magnet links provider
Registration:Closed
Language:English
Azerbaijani
Bengali
Bulgarian
Catalan
German
Persian
Bahasa Indonesia
Hebrew
Current Status:Offline

RARBG was a website that provided torrent files and magnet links to facilitate peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol. From 2014 to 2023, RARBG repeatedly appeared in TorrentFreak's yearly list of most visited torrent websites.[1] It was ranked 4th as of January 2023.[2] The website did not allow users to upload their own torrents.

History

RARBG was founded in 2008.[3] Originally conceived as a Bulgarian BitTorrent tracker (BG stands for "Bulgaria" in the name), the website had been serving an international audience since then. According to TorrentFreak, RARBG specialized in English-language "high quality video releases", but lists other content as well, including "games, software and music."

The website has been described in 2019 as a "notorious market" by the US trade representative.[4] In 2020, the website was listed as a target of Bulgarian law enforcement.[5]

Shutdown

On 31 May 2023, the site announced its shutdown, citing multiple reasons, including inflation, side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine preventing it from covering the costs to keep the site running.[6] The full shutdown statement released by the site reads as follows:

Blocking and censorship

RARBG was blocked in several countries around the world for legal reasons, generally due to its facilitation of copyright infringement. In December 2008, the site remained closed for one week due to legal pressure from BREIN.[7] In 2017, RARBG was filtered out of Google search results following a controversy wherein links to torrent sites were highlighted in Google's "carousel" search results.[8] [9] Due to a lawsuit brought forth against ISP Hurricane Electric by film studios demanding the personal information of pirates, Sophidea VPN, a VPN service operated through Hurricane Electric, blocked access to several torrent sites as of December 2020, including RARBG.[10]

CountryDate of block
Saudi Arabia2 April 2014[11] [12]
United Kingdom27 November 2014[13]
Denmark27 March 2015[14]
Turkey12 August 2015[15]
Portugal26 October 2015[16]
Italy6 March 2017[17] [18]
Australia18 August 2017[19] [20]
Indonesia10 October 2017
Finland8 June 2018[21]
Ireland18 January 2018[22] [23]
Belgium3 January 2019
India12 April 2019[24] [25] [26]
Greece15 May 2019[27]
Netherlands31 March 2022[28]
IranUnknown
BulgariaUnknown
OmanUnknown
ChinaUnknown

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Staff . RARBG . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200709021618/https://torrentfreak.com/tag/rarbg/ . 9 July 2020 . 2020-07-08 . TorrentFreak.
  2. Web site: Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2023 . 2023-01-22 . 2023-04-10 . TorrentFreak . Van der Sar . Ernesto . 19 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220719075530/https://torrentfreak.com/top-torrent-sites/ . live .
  3. Web site: Iconic Torrent Site RARBG Shuts Down, All Content Releases Stop * TorrentFreak . 2023-06-02 . en . 13 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230613003001/https://torrentfreak.com/iconic-torrent-site-rarbg-shuts-down-all-content-releases-stop-230531/ . live .
  4. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 2019-04-26. US Govt Identifies Top Pirate Sites and Other 'Notorious Markets'. 2020-07-08. TorrentFreak. en. 19 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201119204811/https://torrentfreak.com/us-govt-identifies-top-pirate-sites-and-other-notorious-markets-190426/. live.
  5. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernersto. 2020-04-03. Bulgaria Plans to Take Down Top Torrent Sites, with U.S. Assistance. 2020-07-08. TorrentFreak. en. 11 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200711084405/https://torrentfreak.com/bulgaria-plans-to-take-down-top-torrent-sites-with-u-s-assistance-200403/. live.
  6. Web site: Van der Sar . Ernesto . May 31, 2023 . Iconic Torrent Site RARBG Shuts Down, All Content Releases Stop . 2023-05-31 . . en . 13 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230613003001/https://torrentfreak.com/iconic-torrent-site-rarbg-shuts-down-all-content-releases-stop-230531/ . live .
  7. Web site: Maxwell. Andy. 8 December 2008. BREIN Chases Another BitTorrent Tracker to Sweden. TorrentFreak. 31 March 2015. 2 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180902084143/https://torrentfreak.com/brein-chases-another-bittorrent-tracker-to-sweden-081208/. live.
  8. Web site: Liao . Shannon . Google search now casually highlights 'best torrent sites' [Updated] ]. . . https://web.archive.org/web/20180911194201/https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/10/15949066/google-search-best-torrent-sites-highlight . September 11, 2018 . July 11, 2017 . live.
  9. Web site: Dassanayake . Dion . PIRATE BAY CRACKDOWN - Google taking fight to 'best torrent sites' on the internet . Express . Express Newspapers . https://web.archive.org/web/20170730091621/https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/834378/Pirate-Bay-torrents-Google-1337x-Rarbg-Kickass-Torrents . July 30, 2017 . July 30, 2017 . live.
  10. Web site: Spadafora . Anthony . This VPN will now start blocking the Pirate Bay and more . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20201214202050/https://www.techradar.com/news/this-vpn-will-now-start-blocking-the-pirate-bay-and-more . December 14, 2020 . December 14, 2020 . live.
  11. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 2 April 2014. Saudi Arabia Government Blocks The Pirate Bay (and More). TorrentFreak. 31 March 2015. 11 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180611080048/https://torrentfreak.com/saudi-arabia-government-blocks-pirate-bay-140402/. live.
  12. Web site: Vatu . Gabriela . Saudi Arabia Blocks Access to The Pirate Bay . . Softpedia . https://web.archive.org/web/20140405054648/https://news.softpedia.com/news/Saudi-Arabi-Blocks-Access-to-The-Pirate-Bay-435390.shtml . April 5, 2014 . April 2, 2014 . live.
  13. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 27 November 2014. UK Piracy Blocklist Expands With Demonoid, Isohunt, IPTorrents and More. TorrentFreak. 31 March 2015. 15 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180315104552/https://torrentfreak.com/uk-piracy-blocklist-expands-with-demonoid-isohunt-iptorrents-and-more-141127/. live.
  14. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 27 March 2015. Popular Torrent and Streaming Sites Blocked in Denmark. TorrentFreak. 31 March 2015. 21 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180421162721/https://torrentfreak.com/popular-torrent-and-streaming-sites-blocked-in-denmark-150327/. live.
  15. Web site: Bilgi Teknolojileri ve İletişim Kurumu - Site Bilgileri Sorgu Sayfası. internet2.btk.gov.tr. 24 May 2020. 14 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220614134726/https://internet2.btk.gov.tr/sitesorgu/. live.
  16. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 26 October 2015. Portugal Blocks Popular Torrent and Streaming Sites. TorrentFreak. 26 October 2015. 2 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180902012058/https://torrentfreak.com/portugal-blocks-popular-torrent-and-streaming-sites-151026/. live.
  17. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 2017-03-06. Italy's Pirate Site Blocklist Expands with Flashx, RARBG and Others. 2020-07-08. TorrentFreak. en. 10 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200710161643/https://torrentfreak.com/italys-pirate-site-blocklist-expands-with-flashx-rarbg-and-others-170306/. live.
  18. Web site: Vatu . Gabriela . Italy Blocks RARBG, Flashx, Other Torrent Sites . . SoftNews NET SRL . https://web.archive.org/web/20170310020810/https://news.softpedia.com/news/italy-blocks-rarbg-flashx-other-torrent-sites-513632.shtml . March 10, 2017 . March 7, 2017 . live.
  19. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 18 August 2017. Court Orders Aussie ISPs to Block Dozens of Pirate Sites. TorrentFreak. 15 May 2018. 3 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180703051045/https://torrentfreak.com/court-orders-aussie-isps-to-block-dozens-of-pirate-sites-170818/. live.
  20. Web site: Australia blocks another 59 popular pirate sites . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20170822030706/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40976600 . August 22, 2017 . August 18, 2017.
  21. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernestp. 2018-06-08. Court Orders Finnish ISPs to Block RARBG and YIFY. TorrentFreak. en. 8 July 2020. 10 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200710211935/https://torrentfreak.com/court-orders-finnish-isps-to-block-rarbg-and-yify-180608/. live.
  22. News: O'Faolain. Aodhan. January 15, 2018. Websites infringing TV and film copyright to be blocked. The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. https://web.archive.org/web/20180115232640/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/websites-infringing-tv-and-film-copyright-to-be-blocked-1.3356668. January 15, 2018. live.
  23. Web site: O'Loughlin . Ann . Court grants blocking order against websites which allow users stream and download film and TV content . . Irish Examiner . https://web.archive.org/web/20200813113619/https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30822882.html . August 13, 2020 . January 15, 2018 . live.
  24. Web site: Maxwell. Maxwell. 2019-04-12. Pirate Bay, RARBG, 1337x & Torrentz2 to be Permanently Blocked in India. 2020-07-08. TorrentFreak. en. 8 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108011622/https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-rarbg-1337x-torrentz2-to-be-permanently-blocked-in-india-190412/. live.
  25. Web site: Sharma . Prathma . Delhi high court cracks down on piracy, bans 30 torrent websites . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20190416132232if_/https://www.livemint.com/industry/media/delhi-high-court-cracks-down-on-piracy-bans-30-torrent-websites-1555354644184.html . April 16, 2019 . April 16, 2019 . live.
  26. Web site: PTI . HC restrains 30 torrent sites from hosting copyrighted content, orders ISPs to block them . ET Telecom . . https://web.archive.org/web/20190413024159if_/https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/hc-restrains-30-torrent-sites-from-hosting-copyrighted-content-orders-isps-to-block-them/68850022 . April 13, 2019 . April 12, 2019 . live.
  27. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 5 April 2019. Greek Pirate Site Blocks to Expand with RARBG, Torrentz2, and Others. TorrentFreak. 16 May 2019. 24 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190424155954/https://torrentfreak.com/greek-pirate-site-blocks-to-expand-with-rarbg-torrentz2-and-others-190405/. live.
  28. Web site: Van der Sar. Ernesto. 31 March 2022. Dutch Pirate Site Blocklist Expands with RARBG, YTS, EZTV and Others. TorrentFreak. 16 April 2022. 16 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220416182519/https://torrentfreak.com/dutch-pirate-site-blocklist-expand-with-rarbg-yts-eztv-220331/. live.

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