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The Pirate Bay down after ISP cuts its connection

The threat of a fine is enough to turn off the file-sharing site

File-sharing site The Pirate Bay went down on Monday after its ISP (Internet service provider), Black Internet, cut its connection to avoid being fined by the Stockholm district court.

A 500,000 Swedish kronor (US$70,000) fine would be the result if Black Internet does not comply with the decision in the district court.

"The decision was made by the district court on Friday, but reached us today and we have decided to comply. ... We are a small operator and we haven't got the financial resources to pursue such a matter," said Victor Möller, CEO at Black Internet, in an interview with Computer Sweden.

The Stockholm district court's decision goes back to May when a number of movie and record companies filed a motion with the court to fine the people behind the Pirate Bay operation, including Black Internet, as long as The Pirate Bay users can access copyright-protected material.

Black Internet isn't the only operator that sells capacity to The Pirate Bay, but it's by far the largest. There is some redundancy with capacity from other operators, but not enough for the site to be up and running.

A Swedish court apparently decided it is illegal to be an ISP, said former Pirate Bay spokesman Peter Sunde via Twitter on Monday.

This isn't the first time copyright holders have been able to block The Pirate Bay by taking action against an ISP. The same tactic has worked in Denmark, but failed in Italy. There is also an ongoing case in Norway, which will go to court on Oct. 17.

Meanwhile, Global Gaming Factory X is planning to acquire The Pirate Bay. Its shareholders will decide at an Aug. 27 meeting whether the deal should go through.

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