📰 New article from TorrentFreak
U.S. Removes Bulgaria from Piracy Watch List After Torrent Tracker Crackdown
### Bulgaria’s Piracy “Clean Slate”
It looks like Bulgaria just finished its much-needed digital detox. After years of being labeled a “safe haven” for online pirates, the country has officially been scrubbed from the U.S. piracy Watch List.
The way to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) good graces? A massive, coordinated crackdown earlier this year. Working alongside American law enforcement, Bulgarian authorities successfully seized the domains of the nation’s biggest torrent giants, including ArenaBG and Zamunda. This wasn’t just a random raid; it was the result of new 2023 legislation that finally gave prosecutors the teeth to go after those “creating conditions” for piracy.
The scale of the operation was pretty intense:
- 5 major domains seized (including some massive traffic drivers).
- 44 websites targeted in total.
- 30 locations raided with multiple arrests made.
While Bulgaria has a habit of dancing in and out of this Watch List, the USTR is officially giving them credit for “significant enforcement actions.” However, don’t hold your breath just yet—the EU was actually added to the list this year, and Vietnam has taken the top spot as a major priority concern. For now, though, Bulgaria gets a much-deserved clean bill of health.