14 DAY TRIAL // ExtraTorrent, one of the largest torrent indexes in the world, has lost control over its main domain - Extratorrent.cc. It seems that the registrar disconnected the domain name, making the site hard to reach under current conditions.
According to a report from TorrentFreak, ExtraTorrent has lost control over its primary domain, which has become unreachable since earlier today. The notification shown to people trying to access the site reads that the server DNS address cannot be found.
Millions of people visit the site each day, the numbers putting it just behind The Pirate Bay regarding popularity. This, of course, has put the site on the radar of numerous entertainment industry groups who are putting pressure all over to have the site taken down.
Legal pressure
Internet BS, the site's domain registrar, has changed the status of the site so the registry does not activate the DNS, making ExtraTorrent inaccessible.
The status filled in by the registrar indicates that there's probably an ongoing legal dispute.
While Internet BS, the site's registrar, has refused to comment on the issue, stating that it could not reveal information regarding the domains to third parties, this type of status is usually set when there's either a legal dispute taking place, non-payment or when the domain is subject to deletion. A wild guess will lead us to possible complaints from copyright holders.
TorrentFreak reports that this wouldn't be the first time Internet BS disconnects a torrent site out of fear it could be held liable for facilitating copyright infringement. In fact, it has also taken a similar stance against BitTorrent.pm.
Various other backup domains such as Extra.to are still active for ExtraTorrents, so users can still access it. There's also the high chance that they'll simply change domains in the very near future, as they've done in the past when pushed into a corner.