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UK Court Orders Block of Three Torrent Sites

angry tapir writes "A court in the U.K. has ordered key Internet service providers in the country to block three torrent sites on a complaint from music labels including EMI Records and Sony Music. The High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, ordered six ISPs including Virgin Media, British Telecommunications and British Sky Broadcasting to block H33t, Kickass Torrents and Fenopy."

72 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. My first response is "Must check out those sites" by viking80 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My first response is "Must check out those sites".

    --
    don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
  2. So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What will that accomplish?

    Invest in VPN service providers.

    1. Re:So... by The_Revelation · · Score: 2

      Won't they simply mirror? Does the ISP have to watch and block mirrors? Will the whack-a-mole ever end?

    2. Re:So... by deains · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are a million and one proxies for Pirate Bay that are accessible in the UK. As far as I know none of these have been shut down by authorities since TPB itself was banned in the country. So if we assume the same model here then chances are proxy sites will be left alone.
       
      Nothing to say the BPI/government (more or less the same thing now) might not change tack of course.

    3. Re:So... by cheater512 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They don't sell the product the torrent sites provide.
      I.e. DRM free video downloadable (not streamed) and released nearly at the same time world wide (some of us aren't in the US)

      The day they sell the product then let me know.

    4. Re:So... by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Have to agree with this, content availability issues are quite often the reason why I myself pirate.

    5. Re: So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I distribute my own side project work freely across torrent sites, as do a large number of other musicians, devs etc. So should my reach be penalised too?

    6. Re:So... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Pirate Party UK proxy was shut down by legal threats.

      To the BPI: stop breaking my fucking internet. You added a fiver a month to my bill for a VPN, which I am deducting from the money I would otherwise have spend on your products.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re:So... by Zemran · · Score: 1

      The judge probably runs a proxy and wants to drum up some customers. There is nothing that will be achieved by this. kat.ph used to be a good site but now the advertising is getting to be a pain so I had stopped using it anyway and gone back to thepiratebay.se which they banned earlier and is still going strong.

      --
      I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
    8. Re:So... by Zemran · · Score: 1

      "What if they want to pass a draconian law they believe will hinder piracy a bit?"

      What do you mean "What if"??? Have you been asleep for a couple of decades?

      --
      I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
    9. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      As far as I know none of these have been shut down by authorities since TPB itself was banned in the country.

      TPB is not banned in the UK. A handful of ISPs are banned from letting their users access it directly (IIRC, the list is: BT, Virgin, O2, TalkTalk and Sky). Fortunately the UK has local loop unbundling and easy migration between service providers, so you can just move to one that isn't banned.

    10. Re: So... by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Of course not, it would just be a sad coincidence. Technically you should then store your material in some kind of legal torrents site. I understand that the situation is bit problematic though, as the popularity of the sites like TPB gives indeed a quite nice distribution channel for freeware stuff too.

    11. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      So does that mean I can just view these sites using my mobile broadband connection from Three, and then after getting the torrent file or magnet link I can carry on downloading the torrent on my Virginmedia home broadband? Naturally, the torrents I download will be from copyright holders that have given permission to download their work through torrents, I would never download copyright infringing work, honest!

    12. Re:So... by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      So does that mean I can just view these sites using my mobile broadband connection from Three, and then after getting the torrent file or magnet link I can carry on downloading the torrent on my Virginmedia home broadband?

      Yes, since the block only applies to the Pirate Bay site itself (as far as I know).

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
    13. Re:So... by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      How about investing in buying the real products instead of pirating them.

      Hope you like a challenge - find all 78 episodes of Sonic X on region 2 DVD.

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
    14. Re:So... by Ponder+Stibions · · Score: 1

      As far as I know none of these have been shut down by authorities since TPB itself was banned in the country.

      I know of only one - the UK Pirate Party hosted one which they were requested to take down and threatened with legal action if they did not comply. I believe some other proxies hosted in the UK may also have been shutdown by similar legal action against them.

    15. Re:So... by Jon+Peterson · · Score: 1

      They are making it as difficult and possible to get at the content legally.

      Indeed. So the less sociopathic and self-entitled among us take the option of 'not getting at it' rather than 'getting it illegally'.

      --
      ----- .sig: file not found
    16. Re:So... by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      I completely understand what you mean. For niche stuff like that, torrenting is absolutely fine. In such case it's the marketing department's own failure for not providing a reasonable distribution channel for the product at all.

    17. Re:So... by tepples · · Score: 1

      Does your job depend on seeing Sonic X? If so, your employer can fly you out to a Region where it is available.

    18. Re:So... by Formorian · · Score: 1

      Um I'm in US and it seems many Blurays are released in other parts of the world before us, I'm assuming because of the Pay Per View streaming licenses. All I know is 90% of movies are up on usenet/torrents a full month before actual release. And 1 time I checked, france shopping sites did have the Bluray 3 weeks before us.

      Now I get you're other part. DRM free video downloadable not streamed. I'm all for this. And AFAIK no one sells this.

    19. Re:So... by icebraining · · Score: 1

      And you've accomplished exactly nothing. Talk about a pointless sense of self-righteousness.

    20. Re: So... by icebraining · · Score: 1

      Technically you should then store your material in some kind of legal torrents site.

      1. Torrent sites don't store material, only links.
      2. Kat and other sites are not "illegal". (The previous version of TPB was, but its now hosted somewhere else, so it isn't now).

    21. Re: So... by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Torrent sites don't store material, only links.

      Those links make the pirating possible in the first place. Someone has to index the magnet links for people to find the actual files. So while the material itself is not on the torrent sites, they are heavily "partners in crime". Like a drug dealer, but not drug maker.

    22. Re: So... by icebraining · · Score: 1

      Those links make the pirating possible in the first place.

      So do browsers, web servers, the Internet, computers, etc.

      Someone has to index the magnet links for people to find the actual files.

      Yeah, like Slashdot: magnet:xturnbtihbe7968dc49ebc2994ec4129a7d42350831c95bb5

      Damn piracy enablers!

      So while the material itself is not on the torrent sites, they are heavily "partners in crime". Like a drug dealer, but not drug maker.

      I'd like to see a drug dealer which doesn't handle drugs.

      The problem with the analogies people make up, is that they're simply wrong.

      Not only a torrent site doesn't see the contents of the files, as - unlike drugs - files are not illegal (otherwise the MPAA and c couldn't sell them either). Copyright infringement occurs when a person X transfers a file Y to another person Z without the proper authorization from the copyright holder(s).

      Therefore, a torrent site would have to know the appropriate rights for each transaction (X, Y, Z) to be able to determine if it's copyright infringement or not. Not doing so would be detrimental to copyright holders themselves, like when Youtube deleted an artist's own music videos, uploaded by herself.

      It's a shame that people are too lazy to inform themselves not to fall to the big media lies.

  3. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My first response is "Must check out those sites".

    If you're in the UK, you may wish to use a VPN or suchlike. Until they're made illegal outside "reputable corporations".

    --
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
  4. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    That would be my first thought, except i'm still doing fine with piratebay. Y'know, the one they blocked ages ago which definitely doesn't have numerous easy to find proxies that make such rulings pointless

  5. Re:BPI by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    BPI (British Pornographic Industry)

    Oho. Your joke would be so funny... if that's what TFA actually said.

  6. luckily by crutchy · · Score: 1

    australian courts aren't retarded

    1. Re:luckily by cheater512 · · Score: 1

      *aren't THAT retarded.

      Unfortunately our politicians can be. *cough* Nicola Roxon

    2. Re:luckily by crutchy · · Score: 2

      yeah good point, but at least we have the iinet case as a precedent for the type of garbage in TFA

  7. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by lightknight · · Score: 2

    My first response is "Certainly that will work."

    Ok, so who wants to print the "This is a bit, this is a byte" slides, and send them to the judge, so he can find the error of his ways?

    --
    I am John Hurt.
  8. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My first response is "Must check out those sites".

    If you're in the UK, you may wish to use a VPN or suchlike. Until they're made illegal outside "reputable corporations".

    There's no need to use a VPN. The sites will simply pop up under various URL/domains. Some of them already have.

  9. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Exactly, this will make absolutely no difference to the vast majority of people using TPB etc.

  10. Re:Basic Internet Design - reroute around the dama by pipatron · · Score: 1

    site not sight...

    --
    c++; /* this makes c bigger but returns the old value */
  11. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    My response is to add them to my foxy proxy list so i get to them via tor.

    firefox+foxyproxy+tor > silly court order

  12. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Fluffeh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There's no need to use a VPN. The sites will simply pop up under various URL/domains. Some of them already have.

    Indeed, the first thing I thought when this came up was: Here we go, the greatest whack-a-mole game in history is about to begin...

    --
    Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
  13. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by phantomfive · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My guess is, if you haven't heard of them, it's probably because you don't do much torrenting. That was my first response, too.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  14. Discovered two new sites today by AltF4ToWin · · Score: 1

    When will governments learn? I don't know where they're getting their "P2P sharing is down" figures from, if anything torrents are having more seeders these days, I guess they're ignoring private trackers. My money's on proxies going up for these by the end of day, maybe Tuesday.

  15. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you're in the UK, you may wish to use a VPN or suchlike.

    Or any ISP other than those listed in the order. We have lots of ISPs.

    These orders only apply to the retail arms of big ISPs and not the wholesale services they resell to smaller ISPs.

  16. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by hairyfish · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you're using a good torrent search engine it'll give you a whole list of sites that have the exact same content. I fail to see how this achieves anything

  17. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by djsmiley · · Score: 1

    There is a regularly published mirror of tpb you can grab.... its rather large though ;)

    --
    - http://www.milkme.co.uk
  18. What's next? by jd659 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This game of blocking the sites cannot be won. Let’s say it takes, at best, one month from BPI or copyright holder to figure out that one site is infringing the copyright, file a suite and have a verdict against the infringing site. That process takes time and money. On the other hand, duplicating the site’s content on some other IP and the alternative name can happen overnight and is virtually free. So there will always be sites providing free access to any works.

    What is more concerning here is that none of the sites blocked hosted the copyrighted works. This is something that only few really consider as a serious shift in the court system. None of the sites blocked for copyright infringement host copyrighted works! What will be the next step? Someone will create a site that will list all the blocked sites along with the new mirrored sites that can be accessed within the UK. Should this new site be blocked? Based on what? It doesn’t host any copyrighted works, nor provides an index to the copyrighted works. Let’s say that the UK block-thirsty judges will issue a new verdict to block the sites that list mirrors. What next? Someone will write a browser plugin that will automatically redirect to the current working mirror of the blocked sites and users will continue to use the sites without even noticing any blocking and without using any VPN. Should browser plugins be blocked or any sites that host browser plugins? Someone will say that it will be good enough if less people are aware of the options. But how did we get to the point that more users are aware of thepiratebay than about the legal ways of obtaining the same material? The reason is that thepiratebay does better consolidating all the media (even that that cannot be purchased anywhere) in one spot at an attractive price point. Offer something better and people will pick the alternative. Otherwise, blocking will not solve any problem that BPI thinks exists.

    --
    There's no such thing as "illegal download"
    1. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "even that that cannot be purchased anywhere"

      Like movies that'll play on anything.

    2. Re:What's next? by six025 · · Score: 1

      This game of blocking the sites cannot be won.

      (I think) everyone is well aware of this. If not, they bloody well should be in 2013 :)

      So hardcore pirates will always find a way. It's the casual pirates that they're targeting, the people who would normally buy a CD/DVD/game/app if no other source is readily available, and it's this middle group that is a significant source of "lost sales".

      Peace,
      Andy.

    3. Re:What's next? by girlinatrainingbra · · Score: 1

      Blocking search engines should lead all the way to blocking google and bing. Blocking organized indices should lead all the way to blocking yahoo (Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle, remember???) and such. Blocking links to content should lead all the way to blocking The New York Times and every newspaper site and every web site in the entire WWW (as someone pointed out that the entire point of the world-wide-web and Hypertext Markup Language is to provide linkages between pages on the internet's WWW.
      .
      This is the same crap that was being fed to people when there was the argument about the existence of "illegal links" or trying to tell people "hey don't link to our website without our permission!!!" It's like telling people you shouldn't tell anyone what a particular physical world geolocation address is IRL, or to not pass along a phone number (I can almost see the point in that one, though, for privacy reasons, eh?)

    4. Re:What's next? by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      A D-notice is government ruling which when enacted, can prevent a specific story from appearing in the public press. It has been used in the past, to stop newspapers from naming the government minister who's son was arrested for selling marijuana, for example.

      It's also entirely voluntary.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    5. Re:What's next? by fatphil · · Score: 1

      Shutting down torrent-hosting sites does nothing to ameliorate their sales figures in such cases.

      ``no other source [being] readily available [...] is a significant source of "lost sales"''

      The businesses are still failing to respond to an economic want. They have no right to survive, they've been terminally stupid for so long.

      --
      Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
  19. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Fortunately, all you actually need to do is not use a big-name ISP. The ISP I use has not yet been ordered to block anything, including TPB (which the ISPs named above have been blocking for months now, AIUI).

  20. Another repeat story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    We already did this one four days ago:
    High Court Orders UK ISPs To Block More Torrent Sites.

  21. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by bonniot · · Score: 3, Funny

    Ok, so who wants to print the "This is a bit, this is a byte" slides, and send them to the judge, so he can find the error of his ways?

    Are you quoting this?

  22. The best part about this by korbulon · · Score: 1

    Is that some dude in a white wig and black robes said "Kickass Torrents".

  23. Translator by Mr_Silver · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised no-one has written a website/web-service where if you submit one blocked address, you get another one returned which hasn't been blocked.

    Should be a fairly simple thing to develop.

    --
    Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
  24. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by dintech · · Score: 5, Funny

    so he can find the error of his ways

    Only if you include some par2 files...

  25. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Trilkin · · Score: 1

    This needs a higher score than it has. Alas, I have no mod points.

    --
    Nobody cares what the CAPTCHA for your post was.
  26. TPB *is* a legal torrent site. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Just like fast cars are LEGAL cars. That people break the speed limit doesn't make that change.

  27. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Bengie · · Score: 2

    I wonder if these ISPs only removed the DNS entry. I wonder if one could just enter in the IP address directly or use OpenDNS.

  28. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by TheMathemagician · · Score: 1

    Of course you can, or just use a smaller ISP which isn't subject to the banning order. It's just a farcical waste of time.

  29. ...ng of the South by tepples · · Score: 1

    What's the point of continuing to use state police power to enforce the copyright in an over 60-year-old feature film when the only lawful option for the vast majority of the public is "not getting at it"?

  30. Why can't I get a lawfully made copy by tepples · · Score: 1

    It's the casual pirates that they're targeting, the people who would normally buy a CD/DVD/game/app if no other source is readily available

    Publishers can't sincerely target this group of infringers without actually releasing the CD/DVD/game/app. So why can't I get a lawfully made copy of the film Song of the South, the TV series Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea, and the video game Mother 3?

    1. Re:Why can't I get a lawfully made copy by melikamp · · Score: 1

      Enjoying the oldies subtracts from the time you could've spent watching the latest and greatest premium content, and is tantamount to theft. But you already knew that...

  31. Ass also means donkey by tepples · · Score: 1

    Consider this perfectly well-formed sentence: "The ass of Jesus was upon an ass." Back when the U.S. Democratic Party still used a donkey motif (before switching to a circled blue D), the official party blog was titled "Kicking Ass". The judge could have easily just imagined describing a clip like two boys kicking a donkey off a cliff.

  32. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by gravis777 · · Score: 1

    Kickass is a horrible torrent site. There is so much garbage on their page, half the links lead to stuff you have to pay for (not in a legal way), most of the torrents I have seen don't have any seeders, its hard to find anything . Truthfully, if you can't find it on The Pirate Bay or on some private torrent site, your best bet is a Torrent Search Engine. KickAss is one of those sites that come up if you try to do a torrent search in Google.

    Now I am not saying that the site is completely worthless, just saying that it needs a major redesign. Unless their goal is to TRY to confuse and mislead people.

  33. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by Arashi256 · · Score: 1

    This is total bullshit. I've used Kickass for years and not run into anything you describe. If you find using a website to be so challenging, I suggest you do something else.

  34. Re:Basic Internet Design - reroute around the dama by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

    The internet was designed to survive a nuclear strike, and reroute around the damage.

    Actually that was ARPAnet, not the Internet. The Internet didn't inherit that functionality from ARPAnet (that's not saying that such functionality doesn't exist on the Internet, but that was developed after the Internet as part of routing protocols that are often tied under peering agreements that are not automatically granted because of something like a nuclear attack).

    Same premise applies here, Block one sight 1000 new sights take its place.

    Not really. It's more like there are many sites like that and one becomes more notable when a major one goes away.

    --
    Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  35. Re:Hypothetical Scenario by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

    Me neither. That's why I only buy single tunes for 99 cents each, on iTunes.

  36. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by lightknight · · Score: 1

    Paraphrasing, but yes, the BOFH's influence can be found, at times, in my writings.

    --
    I am John Hurt.
  37. What are they going to do about postman's I2P site by GargamelSpaceman · · Score: 1

    Hmm?

    --
    ...
  38. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by houghi · · Score: 1

    Just use Google with filetype:torrent as an extra parameter.
    metallica black album filetype:torrent is just a random example.
    the interesting part is not so much that it shows a lot of links. Interesting is also at the ende the part that talks about what is blocked:
    One of them reads:In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 3 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org.
    When you go to that site, you will see all the URLs neatly presented.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  39. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by fatphil · · Score: 1

    You'll be saying playing a game of whack-a-mole achieves nothing next!

    --
    Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
  40. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by fatphil · · Score: 1

    Bizarre. KAT has a very wide selection, and as long as you have javascript turned off it's a very clean and easily navigable site. Presently it's my favourite site for just about every reason imaginable.

    --
    Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
  41. Is this even legal? by Kirth · · Score: 1

    I mean, this is only a court order, against sites that have _not yet_ been persecuted for copyright infringement. So how can the court order this without at least opening a case against them? This sounds wholly illegal to me.

    --
    "The more prohibitions there are, The poorer the people will be" -- Lao Tse
  42. Re:My first response is "Must check out those site by icebraining · · Score: 1

    I don't know what you're searching for, but I've never had any results "you had to pay for". You do know the top ones are ads, right?

    As for the seeders, that's common for all public torrent sites (I'm not a regular of private ones). It's usually not a problem anyway, since the DHT will get a few even if the site says otherwise.