P2P indexing site shutters access to US users

TorrentSpy.com, the BitTorrent tracking site facing a copyright lawsuit from the motion picture industry, is shutting down access to users in the US, the company said in a statement.

The barring of US residents by TorrentSpy comes as a US district judge is expected to rule any day on whether TorrentSpy must turn over its user information to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). That group filed a civil complaint against the company last year accusing TorrentSpy of violating copyright law.

According to a statement from the company: "TorrentSpy's decision to stop accepting US visitors was not compelled by any court. Rather, it arises out of an uncertain legal climate in the United States regarding user privacy and the apparent tension between US and European Union internet privacy laws."

The company also said that because its servers are located in the Netherlands, the site will remain accessible to users outside of the US.

Although TorrentSpy doesn't host any pirated movies on its site, the search engine helps users find unauthorised copies, the MPAA alleged in its suit. TorrentSpy has argued that the company has many legitimate uses and is protected under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which provides safe harbour for ISPs and does not hold them responsible for unlawful acts committed by their users.

The MPAA declined to comment on TorrentSpy's decision.

Ira Rothken, attorney for TorrentSpy, said the decision to shut off US residents will not affect the company's appeal of a recent magistrate judge's order that it hand over user information from the RAM on the company's computers.

Rothken said: "This is a wake-up call to citizens and internet users that their privacy isn't protected as well as they might have thought. Google, Yahoo! and other search engines should be very concerned. One day these attacks on privacy will likely affect them."

Greg Sandoval writes for CNET News.com