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UK ISPs Ordered To Block Pirate Bay

Barence writes "Five of Britain's biggest ISPs have been ordered to block access to The Pirate Bay. Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media have been told to block access to the site. Britain's biggest ISP, BT, has been given a few further weeks to 'consider its position.' Music lobby group, the BPI, welcomed the move, saying music creators 'deserve to be paid for their work just like everyone else' and calling for those who use The Pirate Bay to illegally download content to 'explore the many digital music services operating ethically and legally in the UK.'"

23 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. how to unblock by Dave+Whiteside · · Score: 5, Informative
    --
    who where what when now?
    1. Re:how to unblock by caknuckle · · Score: 4, Informative

      http://torrentfreak.com/how-to-unblock-the-pirate-bay-111004/ nuff said?

      Since internet traffic itself is routed through the ISP's line's, are they sophisticated enough to block the IP ranges of the Pirate Bay, or would it be simple DNS blocking?

    2. Re:how to unblock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      If other European countries are anything to go on, it'll just be a DNS level "block". Which means I'm laughing, as I use Virgin Media but already use someone else's DNS resolvers.

    3. Re:how to unblock by Spad · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The ISPs will very likely take the least-cost, least-effective method available to them under the terms of the court order so as to adhere to it with a minimum of disruption to their profits and their users.

    4. Re:how to unblock by swilver · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's even easier.

      1) Install Opera.
      2) Activate "turbo mode".
      3) Browse as usual.

      Happy downloading.

    5. Re:how to unblock by X0563511 · · Score: 4, Informative

      The distillation of it is to use Google's DNS, or some other public DNS system.

      Of course, the best answer if you are sensitive to this kind of thing is to run your own resolver, which isn't all that hard.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    6. Re:how to unblock by makomk · · Score: 4, Informative

      Pretty much all the ISPs have a very effective content filter originally instated in the name of blocking child porn - it uses a transparent proxy to intercept and block requests at the HTTP level - and I think it's that specifically that they've been ordered to use to block The Pirate Bay. At the time, the ISPs and politicians behind this scheme insisted that it was only targetted at child porn and there wasn't any kind of slippery slope, whilst opponents pointed out that the courts could force them to block other kinds of sites once they had the infrastructure in place.

    7. Re:how to unblock by makomk · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This probably won't work in the UK. All the major ISPs have some variant of BT's Cleanfeed censorship system - they were pressured into installing it in the name of stopping child porn - so they're almost certainly going to be blocking at the IP level. The entire point of this court case was to force ISPs to use their very effective existing censorship infrastructure to block sites like The Pirate Bay.

  2. This will work well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Because, you know, TPB is the only torrent site on the Interwebs. People won't use other sites or find a work-around. Nope. Not at all.

  3. Well by Spad · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's piracy sorted, what's next?

    1. Re:Well by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's piracy sorted, what's next?

      "The rest of the internet."

      Note the lack of sarcasm.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  4. BPI ethics by Anomalyst · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Do the BPI members use the same Hollywood accounting methodology to pay their contracted artists, like charging "breakage" against digital music download sales? If so then the BPI concern over the artists getting paid is hypocritically laughable.

    --
    There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
    1. Re:BPI ethics by cpu6502 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Is BPI part of this group?
      "Artists' lawsuit: major record labels are the real pirates" http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/12/artists-lawsuit-major-record-labels-are-the-real-pirates.ars

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
  5. Lies. by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "explore the many digital music services operating ethically and legally in the UK.'"

    Yes, and you "can have any color of model T, as long as its black." Please. The popularity of the pirate bay suggests that the 'many digital music services' are woefully lacking in something the pirate bay provides; And study after study have shown that it's not the price that's driving people to those sites, but the ease of use and lack of DRM. People are, in fact, willing to pay to be entertained... they just don't believe that the pricing model accurately reflects the entertainment value of the product -- and when every song is priced the same at the various digitla music stores, that's pretty good evidence they're right; Nobody would say that Manos, Hands of Fate is of equal value to say, The Dark Knight. Well, nobody except the entertainment industry...

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  6. Agreed by alanthenerd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Music lobby group, the BPI, welcomed the move, saying music creators 'deserve to be paid for their work just like everyone else'

    I agree. It's just unfortunate that when you buy mainstream music only a very tiny percentage goes to the music creators. Most of it goes to record label fat cats and towards lobbying for shit like this ban.

  7. They do not understand... by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They think they are punishing TPB by blocking it, and that other torrent sites will be afraid because of the example they make of TPB. It is the sort of thinking that comes from politicians who grew up in a pre-Internet age.

    --
    Palm trees and 8
  8. UK government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a British citizen I am getting more and more sick of the incompetent morons who govern this country.

    Maybe instead of takings bribes from the likes of Rupert Murdoch, outmoded business like the recording industry and the fundamentally failed banking sector they could do some of the following:
    - Financial transaction taxes. Stop the crazy gambling in the financial sector
    - How about cutting fuel taxes (paid for by a 1% increase in corporation tax.) Everyone needs stuff moved around so making it cheaper can only be a good thing.
    - Invest in actual industry rather than bailing out the failed financial sector. You've spent hundreds of billions on this and have nothing to show for it.
    - Build fucking nuclear power stations. Solar, wind, wave, etc are completely impractical so stop wasting money on them
    - Stop wasting money on wars
    - Open up the government and stop fucking with your people

    I'm not even sure who is worth voting for anymore. The Conservatives are as corrupt and sleazy as they were under Thatcher, Labour offer nothing more than "we wouldn't do what the Conservatives are doing but we won't bother to offer any ideas of our own" and the Liberal Democrats have sold themselves out to the Conservatives. Not one of these parties is willing to take any risks or do anything that requires telling the banking sector "NO!" The political class in the UK is completely rotten.

    1. Re:UK government by darthdavid · · Score: 4, Insightful

      At least you don't live in the US...

  9. I propose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    capitalism

  10. I actually agree with the BPI by alexo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Music lobby group, the BPI, welcomed the move, saying music creators 'deserve to be paid for their work just like everyone else'

    "Just like everyone else" means "once".

  11. Once upon a time... by zooblethorpe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Indeed. We need a name for the situation in which a company does something beneficial not for any altruistic or ethical reasons, but simply because the most profitable path happens to be aligned with the interests of the users.

    Once upon a time, that was called "doing business".

    --
    "What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
    "A four-foot prune."
  12. And now that the UK has censorship infrasctructure by rastoboy29 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It will now be easier to justify/implement blocking other unapproved sites.

    The main problem with doing this for piracy is that so many people do it.  They are fighting a large proportion of all people.

    Censorship should be limited to only the most egregious things, if that, or it WILL be expanded.

  13. Re:Time for war by dadioflex · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've taken to hanging around HMV and tutting disapprovingly when I see anyone take a CD to the check-out. Don't they realise that money is going to fund a terrorist organization that seeks to censor the proletariat?