These ‘anti-circumvention’ requests still have to be reviewed by Google and are not blindly accepted. These tend to be even more effective, as targeted sites can’t submit standard counternotices. Instead of standard DMCA takedown notices, it sent DMCA anti-circumvention complaints. Rapidgator started using another takedown tool. Google removed some URLs but left others online. These traditional takedown requests had mixed results. Another site that was flagged in a similar notice was Cloudzzer. For example, was reported for using the official Rapidgator logo and misleading users. The first notices we spotted were for ‘traditional’ copyright infringements. Over the past weeks, Rapidgator has started to use takedown notices to its advantage, asking Google to remove several problematic sites from its search results. This is also the case for, which is incorporated as Northern Ireland company Y-Flex LLP. This is a relatively easy trick, but the affected sites see it as a threat to their business. These ‘link generators’ use hacked or purchased premium accounts, which are then shared with the public at large.
Specifically, some sites allow the public to generate ‘premium links,’ which effectively bypass the need to register for a paid account. Similar to many other hosting sites, third-party services actively abuse Rapidgator’s service. The company accepts and processes DMCA takedown notices but in addition, we recently discovered that it also sends takedown notices itself to deal with problematic sites. Rapidgator dismisses these characterizations and bills itself as a content-neutral hosting platform. This resulted in a spot on both US and EU lists of notorious piracy markets. The site has millions of regular users but is not particularly well-liked by copyright holders. Founded in 2010, Rapidgator has grown to become an established name in the file-hosting business over the past decade.
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