Last week we told you about Popcorn Time, a new desktop app that was essentially like Netflix for streaming movies over BitTorrent. We were one of the first sites to pick up the app, and since then it has been featured on all kinds of mainstream outlets, including Time Magazine and The Washington Post.
Popcorn Time’s short run has come to an end. Today the app’s developers announced that the service is shutting down.
The open source project had members from all around the world, and although the app made it super easy to access copyrighted content illegally, its makers said they weren’t concerned with legal repercussions. It looks like the spotlight has proven otherwise.
Popcorn Time is shutting down today. Not because we ran out of energy, commitment, focus or allies. But because we need to move on with our lives.
Our experiment has put us at the doors of endless debates about piracy and copyright, legal threats and the shady machinery that makes us feel in danger for doing what we love. And that’s not a battle we want a place in.
A couple of days ago, the app was pulled from Kim Dotcom’s Megaupload hosting service for violating terms of service.
Source: Popcorn Time
