Top file-share site hit by crackdown
By Xu Chi |
January 24, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MILLIONS of China's web users yesterday saw their source of illegal music and movies downloads end after the country's biggest file-sharing website shut down the service.
The decision by VeryCD.com, after offering access to these files for seven years, led to a wave of online debate on China's major news websites and forums.
Many questioned whether the VeryCD website faces closure under China's current campaign to protect intellectual property rights.
They said the country may be cracking down on another batch of file-sharing websites, after a previous campaign saw at least 500 closed, including what was then China's biggest video-sharing website, BTChina.
However, Huang Yimeng, founder of VeryCD told 163.com, a news portal, yesterday morning that although they had shut down music and movie download services due to IPR issues, the website would not be closed.
He also dismissed the Internet rumor that the file-sharing website would be turned into a social network site.
According to Huang, VeryCD will still instead provide links available for downloading content not covered by IPR issues.
But the fate of the popular file-sharing website is still unclear as one year after the website applied for licenses for offering music and video services, the Shanghai Administration of Radio Film and Television has not approved it.
Without this license, the site cannot operate and would have to close in any case.
The crackdown on file-sharing sites also raises the question of how consumers can download legal copies or music and movies in China.
"The problem now is that netizens cannot acquire legal copies of foreign music and movies due to a lack of legal outlets," said Huang on its microblog on T.sina.com.
But in any case, even though VeryCD wil no longer offer illegal music and movies, many web users will just look elsewhere for pirated copies.
Huge amounts of downloadable resources can still be found simply by searching on the Internet.
China's battle against pirated music, movies and games is bound to be a protracted game of cat and mouse, many web users predicted.
The decision by VeryCD.com, after offering access to these files for seven years, led to a wave of online debate on China's major news websites and forums.
Many questioned whether the VeryCD website faces closure under China's current campaign to protect intellectual property rights.
They said the country may be cracking down on another batch of file-sharing websites, after a previous campaign saw at least 500 closed, including what was then China's biggest video-sharing website, BTChina.
However, Huang Yimeng, founder of VeryCD told 163.com, a news portal, yesterday morning that although they had shut down music and movie download services due to IPR issues, the website would not be closed.
He also dismissed the Internet rumor that the file-sharing website would be turned into a social network site.
According to Huang, VeryCD will still instead provide links available for downloading content not covered by IPR issues.
But the fate of the popular file-sharing website is still unclear as one year after the website applied for licenses for offering music and video services, the Shanghai Administration of Radio Film and Television has not approved it.
Without this license, the site cannot operate and would have to close in any case.
The crackdown on file-sharing sites also raises the question of how consumers can download legal copies or music and movies in China.
"The problem now is that netizens cannot acquire legal copies of foreign music and movies due to a lack of legal outlets," said Huang on its microblog on T.sina.com.
But in any case, even though VeryCD wil no longer offer illegal music and movies, many web users will just look elsewhere for pirated copies.
Huge amounts of downloadable resources can still be found simply by searching on the Internet.
China's battle against pirated music, movies and games is bound to be a protracted game of cat and mouse, many web users predicted.
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