The peer-to-peer network will launch a new browser be based on the Tor network to allow users to bypass censored websites

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Peer-to-peer network Pirate Bay has been forced to change its domain name for the sixth time this year after being shut down by the authorities in multiple countries.

The file-sharing service actively campaigns against copyright law and provides links to illegally copied films, music and games, making it the subject of determined lawsuits for copyright infringement.

An injunction in April 2012 forced UK ISPs to block access to the site, and other countries have followed suit. It was barred from operating at a .sx domain hosted in the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, as well as domains from Sweden, Iceland and Greenland. It is now being hosted under the peruvian domain piratebay.pe.

The Pirate Bay team is developing a browser that will enable users to store and share files without requiring a central hosting, eliminating the need for a domain name.

One source told told TorrentFreak that while it was "irritating" for users that their domain is constantly changing , the problem will be resolved once the site's new browser is launched. PirateBrowser will not only make domains "irrelevant" but will protect itself from future legal persecution.

A source said: "They should wait for our new PirateBrowser, then domains will be irrelevant.

“Once that is available then all links and sites will be accessible through a perfectly legal piece of browser software and the rest of it will be P2P, with no central point to attack via the legal system.”

"By their actions they finally brought on the next generation of decentralized services."

It is understood that the PirateBrowser will use the Tor network as a way of allowing their users to access websites that are currently censored. It will appear as a standalone browser but users will also be able install plugins in Firefox and Chrome.

The new BitTorrent-powered browser will also remove the requirement of a public-facing website and sites will instead take on a decentralised form.

The Pirate Bay has found itself under multiple legal battles in the past, with their hardware also having been confiscated but last November they announced that they moved all of their data to the cloud.

The co-founder of Pirate Bay, Peter Sunde, also plans on releasing an encypted messaging app for Android and Apple devices.

• Not entirely clued up on the Tor network? Here's our handy guide