It really is becoming a horror story for file-sharing websites these past couple of days, as yet another website has begun partially shutting down its services. While there is no current indication on their website, Fileserve has begun suspending user accounts and has closed their affiliate program. Many users are reporting that when they sign in to their accounts they are informed that their account has been disabled due to violations of their Terms and Conditions.
Currently it is unclear if Fileserve is just terminating accounts that might have been involved with copyright infringement or their affiliate program, or whether they have terminated every single account on their website. As of the time of writing it is still possible to create an account on Fileserve, but the webpage that linked to their affiliate program has disappeared.
Despite what the About page says, Fileserve no longer allows you to "make money online"
Fileserve, like several other file-sharing websites, used to pay uploaders when users downloaded their files (up to $25 for every 1,000 downloads according to their “About” page). However, as MegaUpload was taken down potentially for paying users when pirated material was downloaded, file-sharing websites such as Fileserve have had to clean up their act to ensure that they are not liable for facilitating copyright infringement. To do this, Fileserve appear to have terminated all accounts that made use of the payment program.
In case you were wondering, Fileserve is located in the United States (according to a quick IP locate) so the owners could have been arrested in a similar fashion to the owners of MegaUpload.
The move to terminate many accounts on Fileserve has certainly angered many of their users. People on the Digital Point forums are complaining that the website “is a scam” and that because of Fileserve’s actions the website “is finished.” Several members have threatened the admin, saying that they are “coming to kick your ass!”
Did you use Fileserve and has your account been terminated? Let us know in the comments below.
Update: Fileserve has joined Filesonic in restricting their file-sharing service so that users can only download files that they have uploaded personally. The website seems to be taking many precautions to ensure that they are not liable for facilitating copyright infringement
Thanks to Ram for the tip!