The .com domain dominates the internet with over 154 million registrations, but Tonga’s .to domain has quietly gained popularity among pirate websites despite having just 26,000 registrations.
While global top-level domains like .com and .net impose rigorous registration requirements, Tonga’s .to ccTLD is refreshingly unrestricted.
The Tonic Corporation, which manages .to, has maintained a simple and efficient registration process since 1997, appealing to users seeking minimal bureaucracy.
Pirate sites like 1337x.to, torrentgalaxy.to, and the now-defunct rarbg.to have long relied on .to domains.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has criticized Tonic for enabling piracy but acknowledges the registry complies with court orders to take down domains.
“The .TO registry complies with court orders from courts of competent jurisdiction, including US courts, and has on many occasions taken down domain names in compliance with court orders,” Tonic’s Eric Gullichsen said.
Despite enforcement actions, pirate sites continue to thrive under the .to extension. For example, Sflix.to, a prominent streaming site, saw a explosive rise in visits, peaking at 57.2 million monthly visits after launching a secondary domain, sflix2.to.

Tonga’s .to ccTLD remains a curious outlier in the digital landscape—a small player with an outsized impact, thanks to its unique appeal to pirate platforms worldwide.
Source: Torrent Freak