Pretty much every book ever written is available online for free and millions are shared through central hubs, commonly known as ‘shadow libraries’.
Z-Library is one of the largest shadow libraries on the Internet. Through a variety of domain names, the site offers over 11 million books and 84 million articles. This has attracted a steady userbase and many millions of monthly visitors.
Earlier this week the Authors Guild listed the site as a growing piracy problem. Many people promote the free service on social media, without any enforcement action getting in the way.
“So far there have not been any significant enforcement actions against Z-Library of which we are aware,” the Authors Guild wrote. That statement expired quickly.
‘Seized ZLibrary Domains’
Several Z-Library-associated domains started having issues yesterday when content seemingly disappeared from view. The problem was exacerbated when domain names became inaccessible; as if they were being wiped off the Internet.
A close look at domain records reveals that the nameservers of some of the key domain names, including z-lib.org, b-ok.org, and 3lib.net, were pointed at SEIZEDSERVERS.COM yesterday. These nameservers are controlled by the US Department of Justice and are often used to shut down sites as part of criminal proceedings.
Other Z-Library-affiliated domain names, such as b-ok.lat and booksc.org, don’t share these nameservers. They instead resolve to 66.212.148.117 (at AS13333 Consolidated Communications) where SEIZEDSERVERS.COM is hosted.
Seizure Banner
The latter domains now display a seizure banner that was purportedly uploaded by the authorities. The notice explains that the targeted domains were seized in response to a court order, which suggests that there’s a criminal crackdown underway.
“This domain has been seized by the United States Postal Inspection Service in accordance with a court order,” the notice reads.
The grounds for the seizures remain unclear and no obvious information to explain why the Postal Inspection Service has a leading role. TorrentFreak reached out to the Department of Justice and the Postal Inspection Service but we received no immediate responses.
Z-Library itself hasn’t confirmed the seizures either, referring to a hosting issue instead.
“The z-library services are currently unavailable due to a server block by one of our hosting providers. We are doing our best to get back to work as soon as possible. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience!” they informed us.
The shadow library’s .oion address is still working on the Tor network. That site currently displays a message that refers to server problems as well.
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Update: The Department of Justice declined to comment on the matter.
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This is a developing story, more information may be added later.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
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