The Pirate Bay sold for $ 7.8 million [TRANSFER]

Today, the Swedish company Global Gaming Factory X AB announced the purchase of The Pirate Bay website for 60 million SEK, which is approximately $ 7.8 million.

This was almost immediately confirmed by The Pirate Bay . Although their message was titled: “TPB can change the owner,” it was clear from the text of the article that the site was actually already sold.

There are two facts that are too striking. The first is an incredibly small price for which the site was sold, if we take into account their enormous popularity and influence on the whole world. And second, the fact that the site was sold at all while everyone thought it was, and he himself positioned himself independent of everyone. The second can be explained by the fact that although it is included in the 100 most popular sites in the world, the site (and its owners) have recently been defeated in a very important lawsuit.
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However, Pirate Bay, in addition to its main business - a torrent tracker, has third-party initiatives. For example, their team launched several noteworthy projects, and a huge number of people listened to their words and actions, which was recently proved by the Swedish Pirate Party, which thanks to the votes of TPB supporters, was able to join the European Parliament.

Many would think that this sale is an attempt to get at least some money while there is something to sell. But site owners are trying to convince us otherwise. Here is what they posted on their blog:

“Profits from the sale will go to help create projects that protect freedom of speech, freedom of information and open Internet. I hope everyone will help us with this, and also understand that this was the best solution for all of us. „

But compare this with the statement of Hans Pandeya, CEO of Global Gaming Factory:

“The Pirate Bay ranks among the top 100 most popular Internet sites. However, to survive,
Pirate Bay needs a new business model that satisfies the demands of all parties, content providers, Internet providers, users and the judiciary. Content creators and distributors need to control their products and pay for them. And file sharing participants need better speed and better quality. ”

Obviously this is the end of an era: The Pirate Bay will change; the only question is: will the independent spirit of the site and its influence remain or die? which has always been much more important than the tracker itself.

Read the full press release from Global Gaming Factory X AB (Eng.)