After Megaupload shuts, BTJunkie follows

BTJunkie, a popular file-sharing indexing site, says it is voluntarily shutting down, less than three weeks after the US closure of Megaupload in a crackdown on piracy of music, films and other materials.

"This is the end of the line my friends," BTJunkie said in a brief message posted on the home page of the site along with the dates of its existence: "2005-2012".

"The decision does not come easy but we've decided to voluntarily shut down," Britain-based BTJunkie said.

"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!" it said.

BTJunkie provided a search engine for Bit Torrent files and was one of the top five torrent sites with "dozens of millions of users a month," according to TorrentFreak, a website which covers file-sharing news.

TorrentFreak quoted the unidentified founder of BTJunkie as saying that BTJunkie's decision to close down stemmed partly from recent legal actions against Megaupload and The Pirate Bay, which faces legal action in Europe.

Megaupload was shut down by the US authorities on January 19 and seven people were charged in connection with what the Justice Department and FBI described as "among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States".

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