BitTorrent’s disastrous, legendary, and controversial story
The file-sharing app launched 25 years ago and unleashed a wave of piracy that would shake Hollywood to its core.
by Janko Roettgers
Jul 2, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC
Janko Roettgers is a tech reporter and author of the Lowpass newsletter.
Twenty-five years ago today, a young, little-known programmer by the name of Bram Cohen fired off a short message to a mailing list for peer-to-peer enthusiasts. “My new app, BitTorrent, is now in working order, check it out here,” Cohen wrote, followed by a link to his personal website.
“What’s BitTorrent, Bram?” the founder of the list asked in response.
Cohen never bothered to reply. The world would find out soon enough.
In the following years, BitTorrent quickly became the world’s most popular file-sharing app, unleashing a massive wave of piracy that upended Hollywood forever. At one point, BitTorrent was said to be responsible for a huge amount of...
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