UK ISPs are now blocking 93 piracy websites

[The Orgazoid]

SOURCE: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/uk-isp-piracy-blocks-high-court

 

UK internet providers have been forced to block a further 53 websites, bringing the total number of sites blocked by court orders to 93. The ruling at the High Court is the latest in a series of blocks against torrent websites that link to pirated content.

The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which made the majority of the complaints, said that blocking access to such websites was an "accepted and legitimate measure" to tackle piracy online. "It carefully targets sites whose sole purpose is to make money off the back of other people's content while paying nothing back into the legitimate economy," said Chris Marcich, EMEA president of the MPA.

 

The High Court ruling orders the UK's five major ISPs to block access to websites that have been deemed to breach copyright. BT was the first to add the latest batch of sites to its block list, with EE, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media all required to follow suit. Smaller ISPs are not required to block the websites.

Sites included in the latest round of blocking include IP Torrents, Isohunt, Sumotorrent, Stream TV, Warez BB and Rapid Moviez. ISPs have been ordered to block piracy websites since 2012 when the High Court ruled that The Pirate Bay be blocked. Since then 92 more websites have been added to the list of

<a style="background-color: transparent;" href="/copyright">copyright</a> infringers.

The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), a trade association for internet services, has once again criticised the blocks as a "relatively blunt tool". In the past the ISPA has said that the industry should focus on creating better legal services, rather than pursuing blocks against online copyright infringement.

Critics of the blocks have also pointed out that they are relatively easy to bypass. With more piracy websites appearing everyday copyright holders face an uphill battle to block the latest offenders.