Demonoid Return In Doubt After MPAA 'Evidence' Leaks

As BitTorrent users across the Internet wonder whether Demonoid will return, the administrators of the popular site have remained quiet. On Thursday, Torrent Freak gave users something else to mull over by publishing screenshots that were taken by the MPAA of Demonoid documents, which you can find below.

Torrent Freak reports that the screenshots are evidence of Demonoid's support for petitions that protest domain seizures and the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act. It's unclear what purpose the screenshots actually would have for the MPAA because signing a petition is legal. Kate Spence, a former public relations representative for the MPAA, is said to have compiled the screenshots.

The original host of the screenshots was Demand Progress, an organization that advocates Internet freedom.

"In particular, we tend to focus on issues of civil liberties, civil rights and government reform," according to the group's mission statement.

Torrent Freak speculated that the screenshots were taken in order to discredit the results of the petition.

COICA was originally introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and eventually was renamed the Protect IP Act, one half of the controversial SOPA/PIPA legislation that failed to make it out of the U.S. Congress.

The screenshots are unlikely to gain the MPAA any favorable public opinion. Since BitTorrenting, and Demonoid in particular, has risen to prominence more and more critics have attacked the MPAA's lack of transparency and feeble attempts to bring down sites like the Pirate Bay. Earlier this year, as part of the TED talks series, Rob Reid outlined how greatly the MPAA was exaggerating their losses from piracy.

Because the intention behind taking the screenshot is unknown, it's difficult to guess what it means for Demonoid's return. Still, the longer Demonoid is offline the less likely a return seems to be, despite the site's reputation as the "comeback kid."

Mpaa Demonoid