Eli5 How are websites able to provide pirated content for free? Doesn’t it cost money to host the content, program and maintain the site etc?
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A big reason pirate content can be free is – pirate websites do not host the downloadable media on their own servers. It is “file sharing”. Meaning, if I’m downloading Avatar 2, I’m doing so from 100 other computers that are also downloading Avatar 2.
The website itself does not need a robust server for this.
There are also file sharers that are happy to do this for free as they see it as a way to rebel against “big hollywood” or a variety of other reasons.
Pirate Bay and other torrenting sites are not ‘providing’ pirated content. TPB does not have a server that has a copy of HBO’s The Last of Us on it that you download directly from TPB.
What TPB does is connects random people together. Person A say’s ‘I have The Last of Us on my computer’ and Person B say’s ‘I’m looking for The Last of Us.’ TPB then connects these two people together and Person B downloads The Last of Us directly from Person A. TPB is not providing the pirated content.
This is why it’s called *peer to peer* sharing. It’s two random people (peers) sharing the files with each other.
TPB keeps the lights on by selling ads to advertisers.
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