BayFiles
{{short description|File hosting service}}
{{Infobox website
| logo = Bayfiles logo.png
| logo_size = 100px
| screenshot = BayFiles frontpage.png
| screenshot_size = 250px
| caption = BayFiles front page as of 22 November 2013
| url = {{URL|bayfiles.com}}
| commercial = Ad supported
| type = One-click hosting
| registration = Optional
| language =
| dissolved = {{end date and age|2023|08|16}}
| num_users =
| content_license =
| author = Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij
| launch_date = 2011
| name = BayFiles
| owners = Unknown
| current_status = Offline
}}
BayFiles was a file-hosting website created by two of the founders of The Pirate Bay.
BayFiles works by letting users upload files to its servers and share them online.{{cite web|url= https://venturebeat.com/2011/08/29/piratebay-founders-launce-file-hosting-service-bayfiles/ |title= Pirate Bay Founders Launch BayFiles |date= 30 August 2011 | publisher= VentureBeat |accessdate= 2011-12-17 }} Users are provided with a link to access their files, which can be shared with anyone on the internet so that they can download the files associated with the particular link.
Legal issues
One of the critical features of the BayFiles hosting service is that its founders have chosen to disallow the uploads of any content that violates third party copyright laws.{{cite web|url=http://bayfiles.com/tos |title=Bayfiles: Terms of Service |publisher=Wayback Machine |accessdate=2011-09-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923154020/http://bayfiles.com/tos |archivedate=September 23, 2011 }} This has come as a surprise to many people who are familiar with the founder's previous website The Pirate Bay, which was surrounded by legal controversy concerning copyright issues. In the website's terms of service, it asserts that it will disable the accounts of those users who frequently violate its copyright terms. BayFiles co-founder Fredrik Neij has even claimed to have hired DMCA agents who will help ensure that BayFiles is properly complying with current United States copyright law.{{cite web|url= http://torrentfreak.com/bayfiles-the-pirate-bay-founders-launch-file-hosting-site-110829/ |title= Bayfiles: The Pirate Bay Founders Launch File Hosting Site | publisher= TorrentFreak |accessdate= 2014-12-11 }}
Despite BayFiles' goal of complying with U.S. digital copyright law, some have speculated that it will still potentially face major lawsuits because of the legal history its founders and their The Pirate Bay have had with record labels and movie studios in the past. But as long as BayFiles never explicitly promotes copyright infringement, it can maintain the legal status of its operation through relying on the precedent established in a 2010 court case won by RapidShare.{{cite web|url= http://torrentfreak.com/rapidshare-not-guilty-of-copyright-infringement-us-court-rules-100520/ |title= US Court: Rapidshare Not Guilty of Copyright Infringement | publisher= TorrentFreak |accessdate= 2014-12-11 }}
Bayfiles was shut down in November 2014. The reasons for the site's sudden disappearance are unknown, though some have indicated it was likely linked to the arrest of its sole registrant{{cite web|url= http://whois.domaintools.com/bayfiles.net |title= Whois Record for BayFiles.net | publisher= DomainTools |accessdate= 2014-12-11 }} and former Pirate Bay operator Fredrik Neij.{{cite web|url= http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founders-file-hosting-site-disappears-141128/ |title= Pirate Bay Cyberlocker Bayfiles Disappears After Arrest | publisher= TorrentFreak |accessdate= 2014-12-11 }}
In July 2018, the website was brought back to life, this time being run by unknown operators.
As of 10 August 2023, BayFiles went offline, the website and its uploaded files cannot be reached.{{Cite web |date=12 August 2023 |title=BayFiles Website |url=http://www.bayfiles.com/ |url-status=dead |access-date=12 August 2023 |archive-date=25 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525001521/http://bayfiles.com/ }} BayFiles has gone offline due to the closure of parent service AnonFiles.{{Cite web |date=16 August 2023 |title=File sharing site Anonfiles shuts down due to overwhelming abuse |url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/file-sharing-site-anonfiles-shuts-down-due-to-overwhelming-abuse/ |access-date=6 September 2023 |website=bleepingcomputer.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.bayfiles.com}}
{{The Pirate Bay}}
Category:Internet properties established in 2011