A new platform has emerged on the internet which poses itself as a serious threat to the intentions of copyright holders. Well, it is not intended for being so. Known as ZeroNet, it is kind of a server-less human-powered network which uses a technology that is an amalgamation of the Bitcoin cryptography and Bittorrent network. We have also talked about the technical details of ZeroNet in the past.
What is ZeroNet?
So, What’s the real deal? ZeroNet works in a similar way just like you share torrent files on the BitTorrent P2P network. The difference is that here a website is shared instead of pirated movies and tv shows. A website uploaded on ZeroNet isn’t hosted on a central server but by the users who access it, just like the torrent network in which the data is pulled from the machines which are downloading the torrent. A new user who wants to access the website gets the relevant files from existing users.
So, if you’re accessing a website on ZeroNet, you’re simultaneously hosting the website on your machine. That’s kind of a crash-proof solution and could safeguard the existence of the website in case some legal authority wants to take it down. For using ZeroNet, you’ll have to download its bundle which will authorize your machine to connect to the network. Once connected, you’ll be able to upload your own website or open an existing one by typing the ZeroNet URL in your web browser. You can know more about how it works by clickinghere.
Play – First website on ZeroNet
‘Play’ is accessed via a Zeronet URL which only works if the Zeronet software is installed. Once on the site it is indistinguishable from any other similar site working on a central server. The site doesn’t offer a tracker (that would create new problems) but instead serves magnet links sourced from RARBG.
As one might expect, the site is the usual fare with the latest movies presented in varying qualities, along with YouTube trailer links where applicable.
As a straightforward website ‘Play’ wouldn’t get a mention here but the way it’s delivered to users is somewhat exciting, especially since this is what The Pirate Bay and indeed BitTorrent Inc.’s Project Maelstrom has been promising for some time. However, before users get too excited, there are some caveats.
While Zeronet sites won’t get taken down as long as someone is ‘seeding’ them, the Zeronet website-serving network is not anonymous. That means that users’ IP addresses are public unless they choose the Tor option or double up with a VPN. Additionally, torrent transfers function in an identical fashion to any other site and are just as public as they ever were.
From a legal perspective Zeronet itself has no issues but of course a site like Play infringes on copyright law just as any other similar site would, even if its operators can remain anonymous. Interestingly though, while someone, somewhere has created Play, its users (not a server company) are now effectively hosting it via their local machines. This raises questions of liability for torrent site hosting in the future.
Finally, Zeronet also offers users a one-click solution to site cloning. This sounds like it might be a real headache for copyright holders but it could also be an equally large headache for the Internet’s spam department. Time will tell how that will play out.
Zeronet’s homepage can be found here.