Pirate Bay and Kodi add-on fans should not be left fearing that they’re committing a crime, according to one major figure in the online piracy world. 

The Kodi surge continues without any sign of stopping, as users continue to ditch paid TV services for the online player.

Research has suggested Kodi - which offers access to thousands of channels - is being used in more than five million British homes.

Kodi software is not illegal, but developers can produce third-party add-ons that provides free access to pirated and illegal content. 

It's these illegal add-ons that are being targeted by ISPs, government agencies, broadcasters and rights holders.

While torrent websites have long been targets of anti-piracy efforts.

Popular torrent websites like Kickass Torrents, ExtraTorrent and Torrentz.eu have all shut down as piracy penalties have become more severe recently.

While the world’s biggest torrent portal - The Pirate Bay - last year went down a number of times before coming back online.

It left fans fearing “the galaxy's most resilient BitTorrent site” had finally seen its days numbered.

But as authorities continue to crackdown on online piracy, one prominent figure in the torrenting world has called for a major legal rethink.

Peter Sunde is one of the founders of The Pirate Bay and was a spokesperson for the torrent portal for six years.

In a new interview, Sunde said he believes people should be able to share anything without restrictions.

And he’s calling for what currently constitutes online piracy to be redefined and made legal.

Speaking to TorrentFreak, Sunde said: “The solution to piracy is to re-define piracy. Make things available to everyone, without that being a crime.”

Suede also revealed that he believes there will be less online piracy in the future, with net neutrality playing a big part in that decrease in activity.

He said: “I think we’ll have less piracy because of the problems we see today. 

“With net neutrality being infringed upon and more laws against individual liberties and access to culture, instead of actually benefiting people.“

The news comes after torrent websites have been left fearing one big change to the internet landscape could have a huge impact in 2018.

Google are preparing to launch their ad-blocker feature for Chrome, the world’s most popular internet browser.

The new feature will drop on February 15, with adverts such as pop-up windows that expand on their own getting blocked.

The group that decides which adverts meet their standards includes big names such as Google, Facebook, News Corp, and The Washington Post.   

Torrent websites rely on the revenue they bring in from advertising, and the Chrome ad blocker has left some fearing whether they’ll be able to carry on.

The owner of one torrent site, who did not want to be named, previously said the advert blocker could signal the end for torrents.

They said: “The torrent site economy is in a bad state. Profits are very low. Profits are f***** compared to previous years.

“Chrome’s ad-blocker will kill torrent sites. 

“If they don’t at least cover their costs, no one is going to use money out of his pocket to keep them alive.

“I won’t be able to do so at least.”