RARBG5月底毫无预警关站真相浮出水面
RARBG那则新冠俄乌战争电费涨价的公告应该是打击盗版行动小组写的

RARBG Shut Down in the Middle of a Bulgarian Piracy Crackdown

When RARBG suddenly ended its operations at the end of May 2023, the absence of notice coupled with the immediate and comprehensive nature of the shutdown felt different to similar events of the past.

The RARBG team mentioned several factors that contributed to their decision to throw in the towel, but none even hinted at legal issues. The fact that a notice appeared at all does lean towards a non-chaotic termination of the site. However, with the site still attracting millions of visitors, yet no attempt to monetize traffic or sell valuable domains, the situation is somewhat unusual.

Bulgaria and Recent Pirate Site Events

After years of criticism from the United States, in 2020 there were signs that Bulgaria would begin a crackdown against pirate sites including Zamunda and RARBG. The country reportedly requested assistance from the U.S. A year later, it appeared that Bulgaria was still interested in receiving U.S. help, but the sites remained online, along with others operated from the country.

Then this April, after failing to improve enough on IP protection to warrant praise from the United States in its Special 301 Report, Bulgaria approved a draft law that in part would criminalize pirate site operators.

It’s still not clear whether that announcement prompted several Bulgaria-focused pirate sites to shut themselves down in the days that followed, but it wouldn’t be a surprise.

May Was a Busy Month For Bulgarian IP Protection Matters

International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property units (ICHIP) are compromised of attorney advisors, computer forensic experts, and law enforcement agents who provide assistance to U.S. foreign partners to combat intellectual property crime. ICHIPs act as a liaison between law enforcement partners and rightsholders, which is “critical for IPR investigations and prosecutions.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in May this year, ICHIP Bucharest conducted an intellectual property workshop for 40 Bulgarian judges in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

“Judicial participants at the workshop discussed the legislative frameworks in the US and Bulgaria, as well as the proposed legislative changes to Bulgaria’s criminal code,” the USDOJ reports.

On May 15, Bulgarian Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev, who was directly involved in the earlier request for assistance against Zamunda, was in the United States with Vladimir Nikolov, Chairman of the Association of Prosecutors in Bulgaria. In Washington, the pair attended meetings with officials from the US House of Representatives, including on internet crime-related matters.

At the invitation of congressmen, Geshev previously attended the 71st National Prayer Breakfast hosted by President Joe Biden in February. Whether by coincidence or otherwise, two weeks after Geshev visited the United States most recently, RARBG shut down.