Piracy doesn't pay, or at least that's what the promoters of Rapidshare found out over the last few years. The file-sharing service will shut down in the next few months, according to a letter sent to users (from the BBC).
The site, based it Switzerland, was in the Top 3 of all file-sharing sites in terms of traffic as recently as 2011, according to the BBC. However, legal challenges (which have mounted against most major suppliers) eventually brought the company to its knees, it would seem. Rapidshare was a rarity in that it managed to actually win one of the cases brought against it, when a German court ruled that it was in fact operating legally within the state. Other countries didn't rule so favorably and put the pressure on for the site to monitor its content.
To make such monitoring easier, Rapidshare enforced a limit on how much users could share, starting in 2012. This irked some users and drove many away. During 2014 it got rid of its free version, not having the number of users required to maintain the free version anymore. In between those two event, the company cut nearly 75 percent of its staff.
Finally, the company sent out an e-mail to users this week telling them that following March 31, all accounts on the site would be deleted.
The demise of RapidShare somewhat indicates the future of torrenting. It was, despite controversy, one of the companies within the file-sharing community that made conscientious efforts to stay on the right side of the law without using legal loopholes. Despite its efforts, it was crushed. One way to look at it is that governments are finally doing right by various entertainment industries by squashing companies that inherently promote piracy. Then again, that leaves the door open for agencies that intentionally shirk the law, such as The Pirate Bay.
