Cartoon HD is still going through some difficult times, and it doesn’t seem like the app is going to get a break anytime soon. After managing to anger a lot of powerful people in the entertainment industry by offering people free access to numerous animated shows, the app was eventually taken down from the various stores where it was listed.
It was then resurrected in the form of a brand new website, which offered pretty much all the functionality of the original app in a convenient website form, accessible from mobile devices and desktop computers alike. CartoonHD.is was doing quite well lately, and it had managed to attract a lot of attention and regular users. Many people were expecting the app itself to be back to all app stores permanently as well, as there were rumors that the developers had found a way to settle their legal issues.
However, on February 12, the website went down without an official explanation. Attempting to open any page of the site resulted in a “502 Bad Gateway” error from the Web server, which, according to experts, could simply indicate technical issues in the backend. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with actions from the authorities, although this scenario is also seen as a possibility by some professionals.
One of the things that people kept pointing out about the revived version of the service was the peculiar choice of domain – instead of going with a .com website, they chose to host the service on an .is domain, which some have speculated was related to the easy-going anti-piracy laws found in Iceland, compared to other European countries.
Of course, in a situation like this, the actual domain name is probably around the bottom of the list of worries for the website’s administrators, as it can be replaced relatively easily if it’s seized by authorities. Protecting the actual assets of the website is more important, but so far it would appear that Cartoon HD hasn’t been hit by any legal action, as the website is back online and fully functional.
Was this an attack by hackers, a temporary technical setback, or the sign of an imminent legal takedown? We have no idea so far, and there hasn’t been an official statement from the site’s administrators with any useful details. Hopefully, it was just a random technical issue and not indicative of any potential problems in the future. The service has just managed to get back on its feet in a more stable way, and it would be a shame to see them having to go through the same ordeal of legal issues yet again, especially now with all the progress they’ve made.