UK orders Internet providers to block The Pirate Bay
updated 12:45 pm EDT, Mon April 30, 2012
UK demands Pirate Bay be screened
The UK's High Court decided in favor of ordering The Pirate Bay blockeD on Monday. Internet providers in the country must prevent their users from getting usual access to the site. The measure followed a November call from the music industry's Britsh Phonographic Industry to voluntarily block the site.
Internet providers in the country have agreed to the measure, although most of them chastised labels for allegedly using Internet providers as a means to prop up an old business model rather than exploring new ones. Virgin Media has been one of the most outspoken.
"Virgin Media complies with court orders addressed to the company but strongly believes that changing consumer behaviour to tackle copyright infringement also needs compelling legal alternatives," the company said while referring to its deal with Spotify.
The site had already faced blocks elsewhere. Its founders were sentenced to prison in Sweden after a short-lived defense. Its managers haven't denied the nature of the site, but have tried unsuccessfully to argue that the actual content is hosted elsewhere, even if the BitTorrent leaks are present.
Questions still exist as to whether piracy has the damaging effect that the BPI or the broader International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) repeatedly claims. The two have insisted that piracy is costing jobs and the economy, but have yet reported increased revenue as customers are encouraged to sign on to iTunes, Spotify, and other legal stores. [via BBC]
