Piracy protest
Netflix, Spotify and other options for easy media consumption haven't been enough to wipe out piracy sites like KickAss Torrents or Popcorn Time. Here, several hundred Internet users gathered to protest against what they call human rights violations after Bulgarian police authorities restricted the access to two of the country's biggest torrent trackers in operations against software piracy in 2007. Reuters/Stoyan Nenov

The online piracy landscape shrunk by another website when Demonii, one of the most popular torrent trackers online, shut down without explanation over the weekend. The site, which surged in popularity following trouble at more well known illegal movie providers like the Pirate Bay, opened in 2013.

Demonii was operated by the same pirate collective that ran YIFY/YTS movies, TorrentFreak reported Monday, which was taken offline last month thanks to pressure from the Motion Picture Association of America. Based on that connection, “it's safe to assume that [Demonii] is not coming back,” TorrentFreak reported, adding that “a well-informed source has also confirmed this is the end for the tracker.”

Unlike YTS.to, YIFY's official page, the Demonii domain is not under the MPAA's control, a possible indication that the site shuttered voluntarily after watching YIFY, Popcorn Time, EZTV and others be threatened with possible legal action.

Demonii, named as a tribute for the famous Demonoid private tracker, launched in mid-2013 and had an almost immediate rise to prominence thanks to attention from the Pirate Bay. By May 2015 the site was reportedly facilitating requests from 50 million peers, and linking two billion connections every day.

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