BPI Using Newzbin2 Ruling To Seek Much Broader Censorship Of Sites It Doesn't Like In The UK

from the did-anyone-not-see-that-coming? dept

Wed, Aug 3rd 2011 4:07am — Mike Masnick

md1500 points us to news that will surprise absolutely no one. Apparently BPI (the UK version of the RIAA) is using the Newzbin2 ruling to seek broad censorship over a variety of websites it doesn't like:

The first likely step, which could be just days away, will be to ask ISPs to block some of the biggest illegal websites. It is not known yet which sites � and, therefore, which ISPs will be targeted. If ISPs do not block these sites voluntarily, the BPI will ratchet up the pressure and will seek court orders � citing 97A and the MPA case � requiring them to do so.

And this is what censorship begets: more censorship. It's especially troubling when it comes from the entertainment industry -- an industry who has a history of declaring all sorts of useful tools and services -- the player piano, the radio, cable tv, the photocopier, the vcr, the dvr, the mp3 player, online video, etc. -- as infringing, because of their own unwillingness to adapt.

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Filed Under: blocking, censorship, isps, uk
Companies: bpi, bt, newzbin

24 Comments

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Duke (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 4:14am

Hopefully the ISPs will be able to get legal advice which will tell them that the Newzbin2 ruling cannot really be used to force ISPs to block any website, including Newzbin2. But yes; this isn't really a surprise - I'm only surprised it has taken them a week to do this.

Also, this comes the same day the UK government announced that the existing website-blocking stuff is "unlikely to be effective because of the slow speed that would be expected from a full court process" and suggesting work on faster and cheaper methods (avoiding courts all-together) including blocking payments and advertising to sites, reducing their visibility on search engines, and seizing domain names.
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Prisoner 201, 3 Aug 2011 @ 4:17am

I'm sure that these broad powers of censorship will be used wisely.

What reason could they possibly have to use these powers ro censor legal sites that interfere with their business model, image and/or agenda?

And if these laws should legislatively drift to cover libel, defamation and other things the government or major corporations deem to be untrue or a threat to national security, why I am sure that will also be handled in a fair and open manner.

So, there is nothing to fear.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 4:24am

why bother with blocking sites, just outlaw the internet, that should stop the lot of it and is a lot easier to implement than filtering single sites.
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Johnsmith999 (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:04am

fought and died for a free country
Oh my God, My Grandfather must be turning in his grave, he fought and died so that we may live in a free country. What the hell has happened to this country, we allow the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of AMERICA) to force this governement to openly censor the internet. I dont care wether the site is infringing or not, the fact remains that now that you can censor one site you can censor any site deemed (by Who??) to be infringing.
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Nicedoggy, 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:07am

A billion pirates are bored now.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:25am

Can everyone just relax please, the BPI/MPAA have got this covered. There will be no website that didnt deserve to be blocked. Nothing is going to go wrong. Le Sigh :(
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:39am

Re: fought and died for a free country
RTFA, wrong country.
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Vincent Clement (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:40am

The floodgates are open. It's only a matter of time before corporations such as LVMH Mo�t Hennessy will submit their list of sites accused of selling knock-offs. I can see this being used by patent trolls against companies they accuse of infringing their patents or by companies suing other companies - "Hey, they infringe, block their website".

How the courts continue to side with old media is beyond me.
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Warren, 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:45am

Re: Re: fought and died for a free country
Yes, because no one in Britain has ever fought and died in a war to make sure it is a free country. Learn your history.
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Johnsmith999 (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 5:59am

Re: Re: fought and died for a free country
How about you read the article, this was and is about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and northern Ireland. and my comment still stands.
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Johnsmith999 (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 6:01am

Re: Re: Re: fought and died for a free country
not sure what you are trying to say, however WW2 started in 1939 not 1941!!
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Jay (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 6:24am

Re:
It gets worse. Torrentfreak has recently done two pieces on the UK government's decision that things such as the UK Digital Economy act were foregone conclusions:

Link

Universal is behind it

What the incredible irony here is, the UK government is supposed to stop blocking websites that fileshare.

So the effect that I see is the UK really needs to put everyone, legislators, judges, and executors of the law, on the same page. Right now, it's a clusterbomb of different patches just to try to censor. The better ideas aren't being shared in order to understand the UK government. The problem seems to be that the government listens to only one side of the debate and ignores any and all other sides. Period.
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Jay (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 6:25am

Re:
France sure is taking a lot of notes...
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Nicedoggy, 3 Aug 2011 @ 6:40am

BPI: We will kick your ass!
Pirates: Step outside analogue boy!

LoL
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The eejit (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 6:56am

Re: Re: fought and died for a free country
no, it's definitely the right country, considering that the DEA was rushed so fast through Parliament that it left the hookers in Soho wondering where their knickers went.

Also, the then-head of the MPAA had a lunch with one Lord Mandelson, the most corrupt politician this side of Hamid Karzai, and that prompted a sudden u-turn from Darth Mandelson.

So, yes, the MPAA is the correct org to lay this down on.
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out_of_the_blue, 3 Aug 2011 @ 7:24am

The other side of: computers DO change everything.
Much is made of how "ecommerce" is different, it's easy to duplicate digital data, and so on. -- Well, turns out that it's practical to use computer monitoring for copyright infringement or file-sharing. Look for more of same. Corporations are slow to figure out these new tools -- or rather, takes time to put legalisms in place -- so you people have been drawing the wrong conclusions. But now it's all getting wrapped up tight. -- And completely "legal"! That's always important to fascists; legalisms are a favored tool to disarm the opposition.
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Alien Bard, 3 Aug 2011 @ 8:19am

Re:
Not really. This has no effect on pirates/hackers (neither the casual hobbyists nor the more serious counterfeiters) or those who use their services. The main people effected by all this are the fans. Later the censorship aspects will also take their toll, but for now this is all about controlling the fans.
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mike allen (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 8:24am

Don't worry the way round it will be out before the site is blocked :)
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 8:26am

itz the internetz, everything illegal is supposed to be legal here, yo? Itz my constitutional right to do whatever I want to do cuz itz the interwebz, yo.
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Alien Bard, 3 Aug 2011 @ 8:50am

Re:
That certainly does appear to be the mafiaa's perspective anyway.

...yo?
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btr1701 (profile), 3 Aug 2011 @ 9:56am

Re:
> A billion pirates are bored now.

A billion? Really?

Wow, if one-sixth of the entire human population is breaking the law, then that ought to be a clue to any sane person that something is seriously wrong with the law.
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Nicedoggy, 3 Aug 2011 @ 1:12pm

Re: Re:
Law or no law they will continue to be bored by those laws that have zero effect on their business.

:)
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Aug 2011 @ 1:15pm

Re: Re:
word...
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indieThing (profile), 4 Aug 2011 @ 4:11am

Re: Re: fought and died for a free country
I think that was his point !
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