File-sharing site BTJunkie shuts down

BTJunkie says it has voluntary shut down, becoming the latest file-sharing Web site to take action following the demise of MegaUpload. "We've been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it's time to move on. It's been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best!" the BitTorrent search engine site posted. A "torrent" is a small file that enables people on a peer-to-peer network to share files using the BitTorrent transfer protocol. While a number of file-sharing sites have taken defensive action to avoid legal problems since the move against Hong Kong-based MegaUpload by the U.S. Department of Justice, BTJunkie's total shutdown is one of the most drastic, PCWorld.com reported Monday. Some sites have disabled file sharing among users, only allowing members to upload and download their own personal files, while another file-sharing site, Uploaded.to, temporarily blocked visitors with IP addresses inside the United States. MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom was arrested in New Zealand in January along with three other men and is facing extradition to the United States to face charges of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and conspiring to commit money laundering.