The Pirate Bay is arguably the most successful torrent site in the world and is also home to numerous cases of film, video game and ebook piracy. However, according to a recent report from Torrent Freak, it is possible that the popular site may shut down for good in 2016 due to the ongoing anti-piracy movements of a group known as BREIN.

According to the report, BREIN has recently begun striking deals not with The Pirate Bay itself but with its uploaders. Within the year BREIN has been able to apprehend popular torrent uploader DRT (Dutch Release Team) and the last member of the movie uploader group DMT (Dutch Movie Theater).

The deal, which presumably would allow the DRT member to avoid jail time, involved paying cash settlements for breaking anti-piracy laws, deleting their uploads from sites such as The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents, and informing on other uploaders that have yet to be caught.

It is further explained that the member, who goes by the alias "ipod020," had uploaded films and ebooks on a daily basis and now has over 5,000 files uploaded and shared on the torrent sites. Most of these have since been deleted and are now displaying an error message that reads as follows:

"Illegal uploading and downloading costs a lot of money to the film industry, but also to me. Do not do it. I had to settle with BREIN for thousands of euros."

This past November BREIN also caught a student responsible for uploading over 750 files via torrent sites as well. It is presumed he is part of the same DRT group and was also mandated in leaving an error message that would inform others to stop pirating.

Tim Kuik, CEO of BREIN, stated "There are more investigations in the pipeline, and next year we'll launch an even more comprehensive approach where we will use software to trace uploaders."

This comprehensive attack on uploaders added on to the current legal battles The Pirate Bay is facing may lead to the torrent giant eventually shutting down. Without any uploaders and numerous countries beginning to block the site it is speculated the torrent site will close as business begins to decline.