TikTok proves the scourge as FBI busts 'world's largest library of pirated e-books' run by 2 Russians

The US Department of Justice has indicted two Russian nationals for operating Z-Library, an online e-book piracy website.

What happened: The Justice Department charged Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova with "criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud and money laundering for exploiting Z -Library, an online e-book piracy website". The website claims to be "the largest library in the world".

Interestingly, the pirated e-book library's social media presence contributed to its downfall.

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"As alleged, the defendants illegally profited from the work they stole, often downloading works within hours of their publication and, in doing so, victimized authors, publishers and booksellers,” Breon Peace, United States States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.

The duo was arrested on November 3 in Cordoba, Argentina, at the request of the United States

"At the same time, Z-Library's online domain network has also been taken offline and seized by the US government," the Department of Justice press release reads. .

According to the Department of Justice, Z-Library "offers e-book files in a variety of file formats, stripped of their copyright protections, and encourages users to upload and download titles."< /p>

Why it matters: A TikTok trend contributed significantly to Z-Library's collapse. In October, the "#zlibrary" hashtag started trending on ByteDance-owned TikTok, with over 19 million views.

The Authors Guild then complained to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, claiming that students and other users were touting the Z-Library for free textbooks and other course materials, notes the report.

Photo: courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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