Finnish ISP Forced To Block the Pirate Bay

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Finnish ISP Forced To Block the Pirate Bay

Posted by Unknown on Monday January 9, 2012 @03:06AM from the if-you-can't-beat-them-ban-them dept.

Apotekaren writes "The Finnish ISP Elisa has been forced to block several domains leading to the infamous torrent-tracker site The Pirate Bay following a court case initiated by IFPI Finland... The Helsinki District Court ruled in favor of IFPI Finland in October, but the ISP resisted implementing the block until today because of the terms of the block not being specific enough. The ISP is calling the block 'temporary' and is appealing the court decision." Analysis from Torrent Freak shows that the block is probably easily circumvented.

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Not only domains by DCTech · 2012-01-09 03:06 · Score: 5, Interesting

The block was for IP's too, so you can't just change your DNS. You have to use some proxy service, or VPN, which makes it harder. And they also blocked one of EFF Finland sites as collateral damage.

Just as a side note, before all the usual "haha it's already circumvented" comments come in. They don't care about that, they just want to make it harder for casual people to pirate. That's what DRM does, too. It's why all those "DRM can always be cracked, somehow" comments are stupid too. The main purpose is to make it harder for casual people.
1. Re:Not only domains by Tanktalus · 2012-01-09 03:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  DRM doesn't stop casual people from pirating when they can go to thepiratebay (or wherever) and get the movie pre-cracked. The guys who get the original movie have to crack it, but once done, no one else has to care. Blocking the IP addresses are slightly more effective in that way.
2. Re:Not only domains by Vanderhoth · 2012-01-09 03:19 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  The problem is when "the casual user" buys something with a DRM that prevents them from using the product, maliciously disables their machine and they can't get any help from customer support.
  
  That's when "The casual" user learns to circumvent DRM by pirating everything before wasting their money to get the shaft after the fact. At least that was my story.
3. Re:Not only domains by LostCluster · 2012-01-09 03:19 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  DRM has already failed... the vendor-lock-in situations with iTunes and PlaysForSure and lack of compatibility with MP3-only devices brought it down. Now, almost all music stores are Watermarked MP3... you can copy it on your own devices all you want, you just can't offer it to others without your watermark that can be traced back to you being spread.
4. Re:Not only domains by Kjella · 2012-01-09 03:31 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Sure, but those convoluted circumvention techniques tend to get wrapped into simple point and click tools for the masses. Say for example small service for Swedes to run that'll proxy just TPB and share the proxy as a "seed" on a torrent and a Firefox plugin to pick a proxy at random to use just for that site. Let them try banning all dynamic IP ranges in Sweden, that'll go over well... just as an example.
  
  --
  Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
5. Re:Not only domains by countertrolling · 2012-01-09 03:36 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I doubt that blocking EFF was 'collateral' damage. Pretty sure sure it was intentional. EFF is an enemy of the (corporate) state.
  
  --
  For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
6. Re:Not only domains by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 03:47 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I bought a DVD with DRM and it would play in my DVD player but not on my computer so I returned it as defective. I'll keep doing that until they figure out that it costs them more to add drm than not.
7. Re:Not only domains by Smallpond · 2012-01-09 03:49 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I bought the same mp3 twice from Amazon on two different accounts and compared them - bit for bit the same, so I guess this doesn't apply to all.
8. Re:Not only domains by dainbug · 2012-01-09 03:50 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Thank you! Ditto. I'm still trying to get legally purchased movies to run on my legally purchased equipment.
  
  As the entertainment industry tries to completely control every aspect of their product and how consumers can use them, more and more star systems will slip through their grasp.
9. Re:Not only domains by MacDork · 2012-01-09 03:52 · Score: 2
  
  The problem is independent film makers! If just anybody can distribute their movie online and make a forture, why would they sell their movie to Paramount for a pennance?
10. Re:Not only domains by ddxexex · 2012-01-09 04:10 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  But did you use a different credit card as well? A user account for Amazon can easily be filled with fake info, but credit card info is harder to make up, so I wouldn't be surprised if the watermarking was done by credit card or something.
11. Re:Not only domains by Synerg1y · 2012-01-09 04:19 · Score: 2
  
  IP addresses are a limited commodity that cost $, granted a lot less if ipv6 ever rolls out, but until then, banning an IP is pretty damn effective to prevent the host from doing much, the browser (user) can still use a proxy to circumvent though. Also, once you hit the swarm w the torrent file, I doubt all those IPs are banned :) Finland is just trying to be like us (USA) w our SOPA bs. But what they don't realize is it's the blind (RIAA) leading the blind (congressmen) over here and nobody behind sopa can probably DE-acronym IP or DNS.
12. Re:Not only domains by JosKarith · 2012-01-09 04:34 · Score: 2
  
  "Not after we demonstrate the capabilities of this SOPA act."
  TFTFY (Though I'm not sure even the Empire would stoop so low...)
  
  --
  'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
13. Re:Not only domains by Taty'sEyes · 2012-01-09 04:41 · Score: 2
  
  I'm still trying to figure out what a "forture" is....
  
  --
  We show geeks how to get their dream girl at EyesOfOdessa.com
14. Re:Not only domains by synapse7 · 2012-01-09 04:45 · Score: 2
  
  Watching my brother try to play blueray discs on a PC looked like a bit of a science project. Among the issues he had with finding a compatible player, audio would only be output through HDMI and his amp/receiver does not have an HDMI input, so he was running audio out from the TV back to the amp. If the TV did not have an audio out, a "cracked" video may have been the only solution, besides buying new components.
15. Re:Not only domains by SuricouRaven · 2012-01-09 04:46 · Score: 2
  
  I submit the example of My Mother. She is a typical not-very-tech-savvy consumer. She isn't dumb - she's a university graduate, and very good at what she does - but just has no skill with technology or desire to learn. Right now she can't even handle plugging an HDMI lead into the side of her laptop - the notion of selecting an input on the TV confuses her. DVDs, though, she understands: You buy a disc, you put it in the slot, a movie comes on. She even has to get me to rip her (legitimatly-purchased) DVDs onto her iPhone.
  
  Now imagine Internet TV gets really popular. All those My Mothers with computers perminantly hooked up to their TV... suddenly, getting pirated media on the big screen is no harder than buying it legally. Actually, it's easier: No messing around with payments, or ratings, or time-limited deals. Internet TV would eliminate much of the technological complexity of playing pirated media, much as Videolan made it possible to just download and play just about any media file on a computer in seconds without having to become an expert on containers, codecs and plugins.
16. Re:Not only domains by Luckyo · 2012-01-09 05:57 · Score: 2
  
  Blocking EFF is all but certainly collateral. The list was given by authorities, and they have a history with messing this stuff up in the past, such as blocking activist sites when making child porn block lists. In general, police around here prefers not to piss people off without reason, it's a cultural thing. Police is very respected here in Finland, in large part because it makes an effort no to abuse its rights.
  We're finns are far more confused as to why this blocking order went through in the first place as there is a known ECJ decision which specifically makes such block lists illegal and finnish courts take painstaking effort to be in compliance with ECJ. Sound like our justice system did something that it's known to do at times again - be slow as hell. We have several convicting judgments from ECJ in relation to "people not getting their business done in court in timely matter" unfortunately, and this seems to be one of them, as ECJ's decision came in the end of 2011.
17. Re:Not only domains by FutureDomain · 2012-01-09 06:46 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  For those that don't know steam is a game launcher that likes to advertise whenever it feels like it, the equivalent of some of the android apps that use ads to make money, but a little bit more annoying.
  If you don't want to see them, there's a box in "Settings->Interface->Notify me about additions or changes to my games, new releases, and upcoming releases" that you can uncheck to disable it. Personally, I keep it on because I like to see what's being discounted. If they had a way to notify me when one of the items in my wishlist was on sale, I might prefer that instead.
  
  --
  Hydraulic pizza oven!! Guided missile! Herring sandwich! Styrofoam! Jayne Mansfield! Aluminum siding! Borax!
And so it begins... by elrous0 · 2012-01-09 03:06 · Score: 5, Interesting

I'm frankly surprised that you can still type in thepiratebay.org in the U.S. and still get anything other than "Sorry, this site has been blocked by your ISP due to legal requirements." Hell, I'm surprised it's still even legal to show it in a search engine. Years ago, I expected the blocking to start much sooner. It's still coming though. Of course, when it is blocked, this will just set off an arms race where proxy sites and government/ISP's battle it out for a while, possibly leading as far as proxy blocking and maybe even deep packet inspection. But it's nice to have it without having to hack around a block, at least for now.
And it's particularly sad to see a country like Finland, traditionally pretty strong on free speech and consumer rights, sink to this level. Of course, the Finnish reputation for has become somewhat tarnished in recent years, with the unfortunate prosecution of Jussi Halla-aho, and the government's increasing deference to the EU and U.S. on intellectual property issues.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
1. Re:And so it begins... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 03:22 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  I fully expect the "Internet" to be a footnote in history when the people got out of their little box for a few years and were quickly re-contained. Unless a technology comes along to allow worldwide communication without a governable infrastructure, we're screwed.
2. Re:And so it begins... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 03:30 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  I fully expect the "Internet" to be a footnote in history...
  Dude, I've been saying for 20 years that the Internet is a fad that will be over in a week.
3. Re:And so it begins... by Smallpond · 2012-01-09 03:51 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I'm frankly surprised that you can still type in thepiratebay.org in the U.S. and still get anything other than "Sorry, this site has been blocked by your ISP due to legal requirements."
  This is absurd. There's no way that they are going to say they are sorry.
4. Re:And so it begins... by Inda · 2012-01-09 04:04 · Score: 2
  
  I'm surprised too. I've been warning real life friends and internet associates for too long. They're probably past the point of believing me.
  
  I still download a movie a week. 3 times out of 4, I wish I hadn't. I wish I'd read a book or played a game instead. The wife and daughter go through phases with downloading music. I suspect they are dissapointed with their selections more often than not.
  
  We will give up music and movies if these blocks gain more traction. That's the bottom line. We'd rather do something else with our money.
  
  Blocking live sport is the thing that bothers me most. I watched a game at the weekend. The stadium is less than a mile away from my house but I couldn't get tickets. I ended up watching it on a Canadian TV station over 7,000 miles away.
  
  Something is truely wrong.
  
  --
  This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
5. Re:And so it begins... by mcgrew · 2012-01-09 04:43 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  If everyone had a wifi router forwarding packets, the only people who would need corporate infrastructure would be those way out in the sticks. The genie is out of the bottle, and he'll be hard to put back in. One presient sci-fi writer saw the internet coming and the "dangers" of uncensored communication and information retrieval. A Logic Named Joe, 1946. Its text is on the internet, but Google seems to only point to where you can buy this public domain work (copyright expired, not renewed).
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
6. Re:And so it begins... by SuricouRaven · 2012-01-09 04:47 · Score: 2
  
  Start building. I suggest a shared-store architecture. Latency is hell, but it is much easier to administer without any central authority.
7. Re:And so it begins... by SuricouRaven · 2012-01-09 05:04 · Score: 2
  
  Indeed. I would guess that the message would be 'This site has been blocked under US law section xxx.xx.xxx' followed by a suitably intimidating 'Your access has been logged.' Unless they just repurpose the child-porn filter to save money, in which case you wouldn't get any message at all, just a spoofed 404 or 403 page to make it look like the server is at fault.
8. Re:And so it begins... by gknoy · 2012-01-09 06:37 · Score: 2
  
  Baen has it, it appears. I'm not sure if this is the full text.
  A logic named Joe
9. Re:And so it begins... by Baki · 2012-01-09 19:46 · Score: 2
  
  Finland got a nationalistic right wing government after the last election, like in more countries in europe.
  People are afraid due to the uncertain economy. The reflex is to trust the political right more than the left in situations like this: fear often leads to xenophoby and calls for "law and order". As a side effect, all these right wing parties mainly serve the interest of the rich and vested interests, which leads to measures like limiting free speech and accepting all kinds of collateral damage in the name of "business friendly" policies.
I certainly hope they don't think.. by DC2088 · 2012-01-09 03:18 · Score: 5, Funny

... that the matter is Finnished...
1. Re:I certainly hope they don't think.. by Smallpond · 2012-01-09 03:53 · Score: 2
  
  ... that the matter is Finnished...
  Nor way is this over.
2. Re:I certainly hope they don't think.. by DC2088 · 2012-01-09 03:59 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Cripes, I can't think of any puns. That's what I get for Russian myself.
3. Re:I certainly hope they don't think.. by Smallpond · 2012-01-09 04:25 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  We should offer a bounty to Sweden the pot. Iraq my brains to think of puns, but Israel hard.
4. Re:I certainly hope they don't think.. by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · 2012-01-09 04:51 · Score: 2
  
  Perhaps donating some money will Sweden the pot?
  
  --
  "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
Re:Pirate Bay to blame for SOPA by DC2088 · 2012-01-09 03:20 · Score: 4, Insightful

No, they're a torrent tracker. I'm sure you could compile a list of individual users and bother them, though.
...and a non-Pirate Bay related site got censored. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 03:37 · Score: 3, Interesting

One of the blocked addresses is http://piraattilahti.fi/ (piratebay.fi if you translate it directly). This address, however, does not direct to Pirate Bay. It directs to the same address as effi.org. This is the website of EFF's Finnish cousin, Electronic Frontier Finland.
If this hasn't changed recently, you can only ask how incompetent were the people who implemented the censorship here.
Unfortunately by Moheeheeko · 2012-01-09 03:39 · Score: 3, Informative

This will include those of us who dont torrent music/movies/games. Some of us torrent to correct social injustices, like having to buy a $100, 100 megabyte program to play blu-rays on the blu-ray drive I legally purchased.
Re:...and a non-Pirate Bay related site got censor by hene · 2012-01-09 03:44 · Score: 2

piraattilahti.fi is not blocked
EU laws by Hentes · 2012-01-09 03:55 · Score: 3, Insightful

I'm curious about the legality of blocking another EU site, it is contrary to the single market.
Re:Pirate Bay to blame for SOPA by ArhcAngel · 2012-01-09 03:57 · Score: 2

So what you are saying is Blizzard and the UK government are criminal enterprises?

--
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
Re:Pirate Bay to blame for SOPA by stanlyb · 2012-01-09 04:03 · Score: 2

Actually, in the common sense or morally, file sharing is MORAL. We share everything, we share air, food, language, knowledge, laws, expeience, etc.... EVERYTHING. And what is funny is if you go to elementary schools you will see this: SHARING IS CARING, so are we teaching our kids something IMMORAL? Nevertheless, instead of calling your common sense, there is actually pretty well documented and tried argument of why sharing is good, and why the copyright was introduced into society in the first place. Translated, just for once try to read some history, and stop "sharing" your half-baked immoral ideas.
Re:Pirate Bay to blame for SOPA by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:03 · Score: 2, Insightful

Right, and women are to blame for being raped, because they dressed provocatively, right?
Whatever pirate bay did or didn't do is irrelevant. SOPA rapes the internet.
A Finn checking in.. by blind+biker · 2012-01-09 04:11 · Score: 5, Informative

It appears that the block isn't functional yet. I can normally access thepiratebay.org. It's rather hilarious, as I am greeted with a demotivational poster featuring the "sponsor" of the legal action by IFPI.
By the way, if anyone in IFPI is reading: FUCK YOU IFPI YOU USELESS PIECE OF SHIT! HOPE THE INEVITABLE NEW TIMES WIPE YOU UNDER THE GROUND WHERE YOU ALWAYS BELONGED!
Thank you for reading. Also, if you do work for IFPI, please consider a more honourable profession, such as drug trafficking or prostitution.

--
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
1. Re:A Finn checking in.. by jones_supa · 2012-01-09 04:34 · Score: 2
  
  Another Finn. To me the ban seems to be active. The DNS won't resolve TPB.
2. Re:A Finn checking in.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:36 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I may be on a different ISP, but I'm getting a NXDOMAIN and a routing failure there. No sign of redirection to any web pages mentioning IFPI.
Re:So does this mean... by need4mospd · 2012-01-09 05:05 · Score: 2

I don't know, but this joke sure is...