RARBG was a website that provided

torrent file In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or meta-info file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers ...

s and magnet links to facilitate

peer-to-peer file sharing Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technology. P2P file sharing allows users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program th ...

using the

BitTorrent BitTorrent is a Protocol (computing), communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), which enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a Decentralised system, decentralized manner. The protocol is d ...

protocol. From 2014 to 2023, RARBG repeatedly appeared in

TorrentFreak __NOTOC__ TorrentFreak (TF) is a blog dedicated to reporting the latest news and trends on the BitTorrent protocol and file sharing, as well as on copyright infringement and digital rights. The website was started in November 2005 by a Dutchma ...

's yearly list of most visited torrent websites. It was ranked 4th as of January 2023. The website did not allow users to upload their own torrents.

History

RARBG was founded in 2008. Originally conceived as a Bulgarian

BitTorrent tracker A BitTorrent tracker is a special type of server that assists in the communication between peers using the BitTorrent protocol. In peer-to-peer file sharing, a software client on an end-user PC requests a file, and portions of the requested ...

(BG in the name stands for "Bulgaria"), 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 Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

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

Shutdown

On 31 May 2023, the site announced its shutdown, citing multiple reasons, including

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

, side effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

preventing it from covering the costs to keep the site running.

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. In 2017, RARBG was filtered out of

Google search Google Search (also known simply as Google or Google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search for information on the World Wide Web, Web by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze an ...

results following a controversy wherein links to torrent sites were highlighted in Google's "carousel" search results. Due to a lawsuit brought against ISP Hurricane Electric by film studios demanding the personal information of pirates, Sophidea VPN, a

VPN service A virtual private network (VPN) service is a proxy server marketed to help users bypass Internet censorship such as geo-blocking and users who want to protect their communications against data profiling or MitM attacks on hostile networks. ...

operated through Hurricane Electric, blocked access to several torrent sites as of December 2020, including RARBG.

References

{{BitTorrent Defunct BitTorrent websites Notorious markets Internet properties established in 2008 Internet properties disestablished in 2023 Internet censorship in India Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on science and technology Impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

History

Shutdown

Blocking and censorship

See also

References