BY SUE CARTER
TRACKING WEBSITES that allow the illegal downloading of pirated ebooks is a bit like playing Whac-a-Mole. For every site that is shut down, another pops up in its place. Or it simply moves to another server or another country. But one website, which originated in Canada, has international publishers and author associations banding together to ight piracy.
Ebook.bike launched under the name The Ultimate Ebook Library before it rebranded in December 2015. Travis McCrea, the Vancouverbased former leader of the now-defunct Pirate Party of Canada, owns the site, which he started as a personal project. (He also runs the online presence for the Canadian branch of the Kopimist Church, an organization that proselytizes free sharing of information and whose members believe copying is next to godliness.) McCrea – who originally agreed to talk to Q&Q, but did not respond to follow-up requests – told the Toronto Star in an interview that he runs all aspects of the operation, including requests to remove illegal iles uploaded by other users.