Ukranian Cops Raid Huge BitTorrent Site

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukranian police have shut down Pornolab.net, what could be the largest adult BitTorrent site in the world.

Torrent Freak has reported that Kiev authorities raided the site’s Ukraine data center and shut down its servers for copyright infringement although the original complaint was sparked by the unlawful distribution of porn.

Pornolab reportedly has more than 2 million members, about a third of which are in the Ukraine.

In February of 2010, Pornolab’s sister site Torrent.ru — that reportedly had millions of members —  had its domain seized by police also in a copyright related action.

With the demise of two other huge adult trackers in January of this year, Empornium and PureTNA, it’s possible that Pornolab was the largest adult BitTorrent site in the world.

Torrent Freak said that Kiev police are citing contraventions of Part 2 of Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine which covers crimes against children using the Internet — in this case the importation, production, sale and distribution of pornographic material without age restriction.

The law has been used in the past to shut down publications deemed offensive including gay literature with penalties that include large fines and up to five years in prison.

Cops are not only targeting the site’s operators but are after Ukranian users as well, accusing them of automatically downloading restricted material.

Torrent Freak said that the Ukraine has been a relative safe haven for European and U.S. BitTorrent operators who have suffered legal pressure and were forced to look for new homes.

But the crackdown on Torrents.ru changed things in 2010. The site continues today as Rutracker.org.

And the raid wasn’t the first time Ukrainian police have targeted porn. Torrent Freak said that in May 2010, xsweet.net.ua got hit for the same reasons as Pornolab and its operator was arrested.

The report said the Ukraine is also home to Demonoid, one of the world’s largest BitTorrent trackers. “Unlike Pornolab, Demonoid expressly forbids the tracking of any adult-related content. It also goes one step further, probably to ensure it stays the correct side of the Ukrainian authorities, by banning all local traffic. Pornolab did not and according to estimates, up to 700,000 of its members called Ukraine home."

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Trump Administration Issues Executive Order Against 'Debanking'

The White House on Thursday issued an executive order limiting financial institutions’ ability to restrict access to financial services for people or groups involved in lawful industries, a longtime goal of adult industry advocates and stakeholders.

Go.cam Launches Free Age Verification Solution, Anti-Fraud Features

Go.cam has announced that its age verification solution is now free with updated anti-fraud and identity protection features.

Florida AG Sues EU-Based Adult Companies for Failing to Age-Verify Users

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Monday with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida against five EU-based adult companies for allegedly failing to require age verification before allowing access to adult content.

SkyPrivate Launches 'Telegram Pay-Per-Minute' Feature

SkyPrivate has launched a new pay-per-minute (PPM) private show option on Telegram.

Pineapple Support to Host 'Money and Mental Health' Online Event

Pineapple Support is hosting a free, online event to help performers balance financial wellbeing with mental health, Aug. 18-19.

Arcom Warns 5 Adult Sites Over Age Verification

French media regulator Arcom has sent enforcement notices to the operators of five adult websites that the agency says have failed to implement age verification as required under France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

MojoHost Debuts NVIDIA Blackwell-Powered Hosting

MojoHost has announced the launch of NVIDIA Blackwell-powered hosting featuring RTX 6000 Pro MaxQ GPUs.

FSC: Identity Theft Targeting Adult Performers

The Free Speech Coalition has put out an alert warning of an individual found to be targeting adult performers for identity theft.

Assylum.com Implements New Age Verification System

Assylum.com has introduced an age verification system across its member sites.

European Commission to Assess Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX Compliance With Digital Services Act

The European Commission plans to conduct a study to determine how well adult sites Pornhub, XVideos and XNXX are addressing illegal content and other potential harms under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Show More