We continue to watch closely the events regarding the state of the file-sharing sites that go down the path of "destruction". This time it's FileServe.com, UploadStation.com, Uploadbox.com, X7.to, FileJungle.com, FilePost.com. 4Shared.com cancelled its affiilate program. you can take a look at a few of the notices placed on the front page of each site.

      In a way it is not a surprise that all bow down and shut down the businesses - it wasn't going to last long anyway. But, here is an idea for the owners of copyrighted content like movies, TV shows and the like: they should do the same like the file sharing sites, but instead allow watching media files, video or audio to the users who would sign up on their sites for a low monthly fee, like $10 - only then will they realize that people normally have no problems in paying for what they enjoy, as long as there are decent prices for high quality services. Also, content owners could sell media files - to make legit files available for download for small prices - again a chance to earn lots of money and the users would be happy too.

      It is not yet known why the Filesonic file-sharing site has been suddenly limited in its services, but judging by the recent events regarding the site Megaupload.com, which offered similar services, we are tempted to think that the owners of Filesonic are fearful for their business model and, as a temporary safety measure, they limited the services to the already registered users which are allowed to download the files they uploaded.

      The message in the red box on the front page of the site reads: "All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally." It would be no surprise if the site goes down entirely, and gets an FBI domain seizure banner instead any time soon: just the same happened to Megaupload.com days ago. A few days ago, FileServe.com another file sharing website also disabled member accounts, especially for those users who were uploading files and earning money from the downloads. It seems that this fashion of file-sharing websites might reach an end soon, as one by one they seem to fall down like domino pieces. What is interesting and highly expected by pirates is the appearance of new technologies or pieces of software that could facilitate file-sharing again.

      Recently there has been a lot of news and activity on the latest developments on what the media industry has started some time ago by putting into motion the legal force against the pirates on the Internet. SOPA and PIPA are two laws developed by a group of politicians from the US, and they are aimed at installing the censorship on the Internet and eliminating websites suspected of distributing copyrighted works for free without permission of their authors.

      The idea itself is not all bad, its implications (or how it will be applied) more specifically - the USA government takes over the web and starts dictating what is "good" and what is bad" on the web - that is one of the most hideous things: many American citizens themselves are not keen at all on the idea. Allegedly motivated by "patriotism" and "self-righteousness", organizations like RIAA and MPAA think it is right to arrogantly call others thieves, while they don't bother taking a look in the mirror - their only advantage being bigger and more "legal" guns. They claim that they wish to take back the falsely pretended money "stolen" by piracy. If they get it, do you think they will give it back to the artists? Not really, as there is a case in point: the famous file-sharing site MegaUpload.com was used by many users around the world for personal images transfer or uploading of files created at work - in order to send such files to their friends at work. All files that were reported as illegal were removed immediately by the staff. This site was part of a bigger project, which included the development of a similar site which would enable the artists to sell their creations directly to the public - and by doing so, the artists would get 90% of their earnings, and wouldn't be forced to give a certain amount to the record labels. Therefore it's quite obvious "why" the owners of the site were caught in the crossfire and got arrested for allegedly earning money from the illegal distribution of copyrighted works. The site has been shut down and their data centers busted. However, this does not prove that this website was used by pirates alone - just like any site like that on the Internet - it could be used to upload illegal files - but the site owners would not be held liable unless they refuse to take down such files.

other websites had their own way of making a protest