Share-Online Operator Gets Two Years Probation in Landmark 'Cyberlocker' Verdict * TorrentFreak

Six years after massive raids shut down the German cyberlocker Share-Online.biz, this week the site's operator was sentenced to a two-year suspended prison term. The case is seen as a landmark victory in Germany, as it indicates that operators of seemingly "neutral" cyberlocker platforms can be held liable. At the same time, €50 million in revenue and evaporated threats against users leave unanswered questions.

In October 2019, an international police operation brought an abrupt end to Share-Online.biz, the largest file-hosting platform in Germany at the time.

The raids, which targeted data centers in the Netherlands and France as well as residential addresses in Germany, resulted in the seizure of many servers and the shutdown of a platform that served more than a million registered users.

Files stored on Share-Online were typically promoted through third-party sites such as DDL-Warez, Boerse, Movie-Blog, and MyGully. As a host/cyberlocker, Share-Online did not actively promote pirated content to the public.

That seemingly neutral stance did not prevent a criminal investigation or the subsequent prosecution of the site's operator. This week, the Aachen Regional Court sentenced the defendant to a two-year suspended prison term.

While the suspended sentence means the unnamed defendant will not serve prison time, the legal precedent is significant. Historically, cyberlockers have operated in somewhat of a legal gray area, claiming they are neutral service providers who merely offer storage space.

The Aachen court rejected this defense, FAZ reports, concluding that the operator facilitated copyright infringement with a profit-motive.

Details on the ruling are scarce, and we have yet to see a copy of the verdict. However, according to the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), which supported the anti-piracy action, it is a key victory.

"This ruling makes clear that operators of ostensibly neutral platforms cannot rely on liability privileges or profes