> Is there any info they can get from running the site that they can't from just logging torrent traffic?
Yes!
They can glean the IP addresses of the people who upload torrent files to TPB by running a honeypot. There's a much stronger case going after the providers of stolen material than the consumers.
Does that mean they're doing that? I don't know.
EDIT - REPLY LIMIT HIT - REPLYING HERE SINCE I CAN'T RESPOND BELOW
> If that's what they wanted to do, couldn't they just set it up so they continuously downloaded all new torrents and looked at the ip of the initial seeder?
How do you know you got the new seeder and not the first consumer? That's less reliable than "hey look an HTTP/1.0 POST with the exact torrent file came from this IP address at this time".
If that's what they wanted to do, couldn't they just set it up so they continuously downloaded all new torrents and looked at the ip of the initial seeder?
Sure, but you can also exchange bittorrent packets before the .torrent file is uploaded to TPB. How do you know the seeder is the original distributor? :)
Yes, but BitTorrent users seed without realizing it. Whereas uploading a file to The Pirate Bay is an intentional act of copyright violation. Easier sell to a jury.
Yes!
They can glean the IP addresses of the people who upload torrent files to TPB by running a honeypot. There's a much stronger case going after the providers of stolen material than the consumers.
Does that mean they're doing that? I don't know.
EDIT - REPLY LIMIT HIT - REPLYING HERE SINCE I CAN'T RESPOND BELOW
> If that's what they wanted to do, couldn't they just set it up so they continuously downloaded all new torrents and looked at the ip of the initial seeder?
How do you know you got the new seeder and not the first consumer? That's less reliable than "hey look an HTTP/1.0 POST with the exact torrent file came from this IP address at this time".