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One of the most popular Usenet indexing sites has closed, citing legal action by the anti-piracy group BREIN as one of the main factors. Newzbin, which is especially popular with Dutch Usenet users, has been around for almost eight years, but according to its operators, contributors have become increasingly wary of the consequences of linking to copyrighted material.
Despite being one of the oldest file-sharing methods out there today, Usenet (sometimes known as newsgroups) has continued to play a role in sharing copyrighted content.
While largely fast and efficient, by today's standards, getting content like movies and TV shows from Usenet feels a bit archaic. There are many tools to make the process easier, but for years, users have continued to rely on so-called .NZB files.
In basic terms, they are something like .torrent files in the sense that they point to locations where specific content can be found on Usenet. Once uploaded to an appropriate client, the content is easily downloaded.
As a result, sites like Newzbin.org (not to be confused with an infamous but closed site of the same name) have appeared online to act as communities for people who find (or 'discover') content on Usenet and then share the related .NZB files. Newzbin has been in business for about eight years, promoting itself as the spiritual successor to FTD, a major NZB site that lost legal battles with BREIN more than a decade ago and was forced to close.
Ten years later, Newzbin, which is estimated to serve about 150,000 users, has suffered the same fate.
Newzbin announces that it will close
A few days ago, Newzbin operators posted an announcement on their platform, stating that the service would be shutting down after many successful years in operation.
โWe regret to inform you that we will discontinue Newzbin. In short, the plug goes out and Newzbin turns black after more than 8 years. It has been a very difficult decision for us, but with the current state of Usenet and the offer, we are forced to stop. "
Newzbin operators reported that "things are getting quieter" with more users choosing to exercise caution due to the pressure of the current legal environment and the risk of being caught. The Newzbin team also said that the joy they once had in operating and developing the site has also disappeared.
Newzbin shuts down permanently
In a final farewell message posted Tuesday night, Newzbin said that after taking over from another site (NZBEE) on the first day of 2014, his goal was always to become a worthy successor to FTD. Over the years, that seemed to be in the cards as more users relied on the site for their Usenet downloads.
โThanks to our good team of moderators, the posters, the observers, the translators, but especially the members who were willing to help others, Newzbin had become the great safe home of Usenet for allโ, comment the operators by Newzbin.
But the good days were numbered.
โDespite the tremendous growth in popularity, we unfortunately also saw a decline in posts in recent years. Of course, this also has to do with the advancement of [Dutch OTT online service] Videoland, Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, etc. and probably also the period of coronavirus in which we are โ, explained the site.
"But the cartels have also been spooked by the recent news from the BREIN Foundation."
The BREIN effect
With most other anti-piracy groups concentrating on webcasting, IPTV services, torrent sites, and file-hosting platforms, BREIN has continued to focus on these and more.
BREIN regularly announce action against people involved in Usenet publishing and indexing and even succeeded in force a Usenet provider offline.
This week, BREIN said that the NZBXS indexing site had been shut down and resolved with the anti-piracy group. That included an agreement to hand over user details, users who may be contacted by BREIN in the future due to their use of the NZBXS API to power software including Sickbeard, RADARR, and CouchPotato.
What's next for the Newzbin database?
When major indexing sites are shut down, indexes and databases are always required to be shared with others to aid in the return or resurrection of a third party. Newzbin is currently undecided and has not yet decided what to do.
โWe understand better than anyone that it would be a shame if [the database and NZBs] they were completely lost, but unfortunately we have no plans to transfer this or release the database at the moment, โNewzbin operators report.
However, according to BREIN, Newzbin's operators are not out of the woods yet.
โIt is true that we are identifying and targeting more and more illegal shippers and observers,โ says BREIN Director Tim Kuik.
โWe are also going after the sites they use, like Newzbin. Those who follow us know that we are getting closer and closer and that things will get pretty expensive once we get it. We are not done with that, not even with the people behind Newzbin.
โThe development of the legal offer is always the best way to combat the scope of illegality. We never made a secret of it. But to reach full maturity, that legal offer also needs continuous protection against illegal competition that is offered for free or at much lower prices, โconcludes Kuik.
