Technology News
- 6 May 2012, 7:46
Legal move could cut website users
A legal move to try to block online access to the world's largest illegal file-sharing website could stop thousands of people using it, if it follows the pattern of similar schemes in Europe.
Earlier this week, the High Court ordered five of the biggest UK internet service providers (ISPs) - Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media - to block access to The Pirate Bay after music industry body the BPI took legal action.
The Pirate Bay is the world's largest BitTorrent site, enabling and encouraging the mass illegal distribution of copyrighted content, including music, movies, TV programmes, games and publications.
Statistics released by music industry body the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) show the site had around 800,000 users in Italy before it was blocked in February 2010.
That fell to fewer than 200,000 users after the blocking move. Others countries that blocked access to the site include Belgium and the Netherlands, which saw use decline by 60% and 25% respectively.
IFPI CEO Frances Moore said: "There have been a number of similar blocking actions involving the Pirate Bay around Europe, and the impact of these appears to have been sustained over time. Of course, this doesn't mean that website blocking is a complete solution to online piracy. It needs to be part of a package of actions that ensures the problem isn't just displaced from one channel to another."
A spokeswoman for Virgin Media has confirmed it was implementing the order and the other firms said they expected to make similar moves soon.
It comes after a ruling by Mr Justice Arnold in February that the operators and users of the website infringe the copyright of music companies.
However, the director of Big Brother Watch, Nick Pickles, said web blocking was "a crude tool" and would not stop "determined users", and Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, said the move was "pointless and dangerous" and would turn "criminals into heroes".
The people behind The Pirate Bay said they will "stand united" against any bid to block access to their site. A message on their blog said the move was an attempt by the music business to "squeeze" it out of the market and advised users to "circumvent the block" and campaign against the move.
what do you think?
dyrewolfe
Seems bit pointless to me. Piracy is like the drugs trade. Shut one site down and others will spring up in its place. As far as the music industry goes, artists have been making more money from touring than record sales for years now. Hollywood and film studios across the world are still churning out movies. I've not heard any of the major cinema chains are struggling financially. Same story with computer game developers. Personally I think there are far bigger problems to worry about than illegal file sharing.
Steve Pickering
its all about money nothing else - they are not getting anything.
Neil Servis
MAYBE IF THE CONNING ODEON CINEMAS LOWERED THERE PRICES THEN WE WOULD GO, a tenner a head then 7 quid for a popcorn, COWBOYS, I BUY BLU RAY, why do i need a dvd copy in the same box ?? just to make it more expensive, i buy blu ray i want blu ray not both, not until asda came along did cd start to drop in price, shows what these companies were fleecing off the public charging 16 quid a cd back then, COWBOYS, try charging these companies like conning hmv and the such, they are the pirates
Neil Servis
This comment has been removed for violations of our Terms and Conditions.
P_Gray
The BPI and the rest of them are total idiots, this will not stop people form excessing Pirate Bay, there are ways around this. When will they ever learn what people make, people will brake
Bob Attoe
SO many millions download and i agree lower prices to stop the thieft of this material (after all it is stealing). i wonder how many people would shoplift to get the latest album, movie or game if they stop file sharing.
Davefly Theuniuonflagbrown
Go to the local library, hire out the DVD/CD for £1, then copy it at home. OK so its a little more bother than uing Pirate Bay but what the who!
Neil Servis
I dont think the local library will have the same stuff as pirate bay !! unless you want old and tired junk !!
EQINOX187 .
While i agree that all to often DVD / BlueRay / music and the cinimas are way over priced however even if these prices were reduced i think people would still download stuff for free and illegily. The problem is that for sometime now flle shareing sites have largly gone ignored by the authoritys and there popularity has grown however that is all changing with greater power being given to take down / block sites soon even the power to track down the people that download the content and prosicute them directly. Its partly the price that has made downloading copys almost acceptible. Because people view it as a way to get back at those companys by getting there stuff free useing the high prices as justification. But a crime is a crime and the price of a product is not a valid reason to then steal that product after all you dont fill up your car and then think hmm that price is to much im not paying and then drive off Nor do you fill up your shoping trolly at tesco to then walk out the door with the full trolly without paying because you think the stuff is over priced, Nor would you go into currys and walk out with a bluray player with out paying for it because its to dear. What gets me is when people say they suport these sites but at the same time dont suport shoplifting but at the end of the day the end result of the activity is the same. Dont get me wrong pritty much everyone has downloaded music or a film at one point but the times are changeing and the methods that are used by people to hide there tracks like iP blockers / iP changers or proxy servers are no longer effective methods of masking internet activity.
El Bubsio
This is an extreme over simplification of the situation. To start with downloading music etc can't really be compared to shoplifting. In the case of the latter, you're actually stealing a physical object which has had to be manufactured, shipped etc and therefore has an intrinsic value which needs to be recouped. The only value attached to a downloaded album is the time spent by the uploader in making it available. Downloading stuff could more accurately be compared to reading a newspaper that someone has left on the bus. After all, I'm sure publishers would prefer everyone to buy a copy of their newspaper instead of reading one someone else has bought. That's also why it's easy to see downloading and shoplifting as two different offences. It's also disingeuous to suggest (as music companies et al do) that every download equates to a lost sale. In many cases that's simply not the case. Many people also download music/films that are no longer available to buy, or were never available at all. It can't be considered a lost sale if the item was never available to buy in the first place.
EQINOX187 .
whether its a physical item or not the item still has value. If these ILEAGLE sites were not here we would all have to ether buy lets say a DVD out of a shop or pay for and download it from a online provider. The facts are if you download it for free rather than go out and buy a dvd or pay for a download you are Stealing from those that made the film no matter how you try to look. Also your staitment clearly shows your lack of knowlage regarding digital sales and loss. Its also clear from your staitment that you not only partisipate but also suport criminal activity / theaft on a grand scale. At the end of the day that does not bother me i will still be online doing what i do while i see you get your computer taken away prosicuted receve a criminal record and a huge fine. If you think this wont happen you need to look into the new powers that the digital police are getting and the new tracking methods that they are now useing.
El Bubsio
-"whether its a physical item or not the item still has value" Not if the item is something which the downloader had no intention of otherwise buying. As I mentioned earlier, downloading is more akin to reading someone elses newspaper. Would you class that as theft too? -"If these ILEAGLE sites were not here we would all have to ether buy lets say a DVD out of a shop or pay for and download it from a online provider" You're obviously too young to remember or are conveniently forgetting the days before the internet when people used to borrow tapes etc from friends and copy them. The fact is that huge multi billion dollar record companies have been moaning about lost sales for years, but still the music/film industries continue to make huge piles of money. I remember when Sony were hypocritically calling anyone who copied their music/films thieves, meanwhile churning out stereos with tape to tape copying abilities. As to your last comment, do you really believe law enforcement has any real interest in arresting and prosecuting the 7.7 million people (according to a BBC report) who download music in the UK each year? At the end of the day, record/film companies will continue to make massive amounts of money whilst moaning that they people aren't spending money they don't have on their products and people will continue to find ways to share media they want.
John Powell
8:49am on 6/5/2012
there must be something wrong with the people who want to end file shareing get rid of recording music centers recording tv appliances and anything else that record music/videos instead of makeing these appliances and may be you will get there in the end People always blame filesharing programes Recording has been going on for years get a life.