Euro cops seize Razorback P2P servers

Belgian and Swiss police yesterday shut down Razorback 2, a hugely popular source of content on the eDonkey and other P2P networks. Law enforcement officials mounted early morning raids on sites in the two countries, and seized servers and network equipment.

The action was instigated by the global Motion Picture Association (MPA), which claimed Razorback allowed around 1.3m computer users to access pirate copies of movies, music, TV recordings, games and applications.

The move follows an aggressive programme begun in November 2004 to shut down major eDonkey servers, first in the US and now Europe.

According to the MPA, while Swiss police were arresting Razorback's owner at his home, Belgian police were retrieving servers from Razorback's hosting centre in Zaventem near Brussels.

The organisation alleged Razorback's owner profited directly from the illegal traffic in unauthorised content, both from donations submitted by users and through the advertising sold on the back of the number of users coming to the server.

The MPA made a blatant attempt to seize the moral high-ground by claiming Razorback was also home to "child pornography, bomb-making instructions and terrorist training videos", but such material is clearly beyond their remit to police. ®