Twitter has implemented a restriction on linking users to Kickass.to, the web’s second-largest torrent index. Users encountering links to the site on Twitter are met with a cautionary notice, hinting at potential safety hazards. Despite inquiries, Twitter has remained tight-lipped about the rationale behind this unexpected blockade.
With an impressive daily influx of unique visitors, KickassTorrents ranks among the most frequented torrent platforms, second only to The Pirate Bay.
Among its vast library of indexed torrents, many find their way onto social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Notably, author Alex Sayf Cummings recently tweeted a link to a torrent of his book “Music Piracy And The Remaking Of American Copyright.”
However, Twitter seems to be throwing a wrench in the works. Clicking on the provided link now triggers an unsettling warning message:
“The site you were trying to visit may be unsafe! This link has been flagged as potentially harmful.”
Despite Twitter’s fine-print disclaimer urging users to proceed at their own risk, not everyone may feel inclined to take the plunge.
The mystery deepens as to why Twitter flagged KickassTorrents as an unsafe destination. Despite reaching out to the company for clarification, our inquiries remain unanswered after a full day.
Twitter claims to rely on Google’s safe browsing diagnostic tool, yet the Kickass.to domain doesn’t trigger any alarms here. What’s more puzzling is that even KickassTorrents’ former domain, Kat.ph, faces the same blockade.
It seems Twitter has taken matters into its own hands, designating the torrent site as off-limits for its users. This unilateral decision is within Twitter’s prerogative, as outlined in one of its help sections.
“Even if Google’s diagnostic report of the URL is clean, we may decide to continue blocking the URL on Twitter as potentially harmful,” Twitter explains.
Whether KickassTorrents’ association with copyrighted content influenced this blockade remains unclear. Previously, Facebook barred access to The Pirate Bay for similar reasons, only to reverse its decision after a few months.
As of now, Kickass.to stands as the sole major torrent site blocked by Twitter. But could this be just the beginning?
Update: Twitter has lifted the blockade on Kickass.to links as of February 26.