Popcorn Time is a “Netflix for torrents” service which hosts millions of users on a daily basis. Launched in 2014, the service has already dealt with numerous legal threats from copyright holders, and has even spawned multiple fan pages that were shut down by anti-piracy group BREIN earlier this year. Shutting down shop, however, doesn’t appear to be enough for the country of Denmark.

On Tuesday morning, police in Denmark arrested two men who operated Popcorn Time-themed websites that served as sources of information about the torrent service. According to Danish authorities, the arrests were made solely as a result of the men merely informing people about Popcorn Time. The punishment is controversial to say the least, when you consider the fact that neither of the websites actually hosted the torrent service or linked to any copyright-infringing materials. Essentially, Denmark is arresting people for simply discussing piracy.

The Danish laws which the men are being accused of breaking could earn them a sentence of up to six years in prison. Sounds like a play right out of the communist rule book. You can read the details of the arrests courtesy of Torrent Freak:

Following a court order dated June, local police report that yesterday morning they arrested two men in their thirties said to be the operators of a pair of Popcorn Time related websites. Popcorntime.dk and Popcorn-time.dk have now been shut down, with their domains placed under the control of the state prosecutor.

 “The Danish State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime is presently conducting a criminal investigation that involves this domain name,” reads the seizure notice.

“As part of the investigation the state prosecutor has requested a Danish District Court to transfer the rights of the domain name to the state prosecutor. The District Court has complied with the request.”

With its increase in popularity, Popcorn Time continues to attract the attention of those who strongly oppose such a service – mainly copyright holders, anti-piracy groups, and law enforcement. In an attempt to rationalize the low-tolerance stance that Danish authorities have taken on the matter, Inspector Michael Hellensberg from the Danish police Fraud Squad issued a statement following the arrest saying “The case is important because, firstly, it shows that [site operators] can be revealed by the police. This has consequences and it also conveys the message that this behavior is illegal.”

To see exactly what one of the sites, PopcornTime.dk, looked like before it was taken down, you can visit getpopcorntime.co.uk, which the Danish site promoted as its English-language version.

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