The cyberlocker gold rush: Tracking the rise of file-hosting sites as media distribution platforms

This article examines the content distribution practices and regulatory anxieties generated by a particular cloud computing technology: the cyberlocker, or one-click file hosting site. Cyberlockers, which offer an easy and free way to share media files, are widely used for content piracy. Over the last decade, usage of cyberlockers has increased rapidly; however an intellectual property crackdown in 2012 has had far-reaching consequences for the industry. In this article we provide a short history of this ephemeral digital technology before considering some questions it presents for current media studies debates about sharing and reciprocity. We argue that the cyberlocker, as a non-reciprocal sharing technology, represents a limit case for liberal theories of informational freedom.