If you're looking for some naughty torrent action this weekend, hard cheese, my friend -- BT, O2, Virgin Media and Be Broadband have started blocking such sites following an order from the High Court.
But not all. Kickass Torrents, H33T and Fenopy are the only torrent sites you won't be able to access using the above ISPs, thanks to a High Court order earlier this year, The Inquirer reports. The ban started yesterday, but will it really stop nogoodniks?
The three blocked torrent sites are pretty huge: Kickass Torrents is one of the 50 most-visited websites in the UK, while H33T and Fenopy have hundreds of thousands of visitors a day. They join The Pirate Bay, which was also blocked by ISPs last year. Wily pirates have found plenty of ways to get around that, however, and it hasn't meant fewer people are file-sharing.
The High Court order came about because of a request from nine major record labels, led by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). They cited Section 97A of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, and asked BT, EE, O2, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media to stop letting users access the sites. It's not known whether Sky, EE and TalkTalk will follow suit and block torrent sites in future.
The four ISPs who have blocked the sites didn't do so voluntarily, but they didn't dispute the BPI's demands either.
I can see why music labels and film studios are so protective of their copyright, but is blocking sites really the answer? It won't stop someone googling and finding another site hosting torrents. And while three of the biggest might be out of action -- only on some ISPs, remember -- it'll just drive traffic to the others, helping them grow, until they're big enough to be the target of a court order, and the whole process starts again. It's like playing whack-a-mole.
Is blocking access to torrent sites the answer to clamping down on copyright infringement? Or is there another way? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 42
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Simon Cave 23 March, 2013 12:33
BLocking these site and with the added media focus only increases there usage , just ask The Pirate Bay, they saw a huge increase in usage when the UK ISP's blocked them last year
Loadit 23 March, 2013 12:42
Why don't they just reduce the prices for their software then it not worth the bother using torrent sites.
Also I don't see why they should stop legitimate users just for a few illegal users.
If I want to send or download private files of my own to friends etc I don't see why I should be prevented from doing that as I own the files i am sending.
JohnsonDion1 23 March, 2013 12:47
Rightfully so these sites should be blocked, If we don't buy the content we are watching, listening or playing the companies that made them wont get any more money to make new versions. I know this is a hard truth but its only fair that we should pay for these things.
anonymous 23 March, 2013 13:20
Very good points have been made by everyone here. I think the issue boils down to price. Companies need to be realistic about the perceived value of their goods. For example, companies make millions from people going to the cinema. Avatar made several billion. I would hardly say these companies are skint. To then ask for £16-18 for the blu-ray is perceived by many to be too expensive. If they just sort out the prices of goods we'd be getting somewhere.
JohnsonDion1 23 March, 2013 14:12
I completely agree with the last commenter that blu-rays and DVDs are far to expensive however at the end of the day to go online and download a movie without paying is illegal! It's like going to HMV and taking a copy off the shelf (although not quite that bad).
anonymous 23 March, 2013 14:30
Agree price is one of the main drivers but are people finding it too easy to get things free? Even if they reduce prices people will still opt for the free version.
anonymous 23 March, 2013 14:41
Why are you so biased against the sharing sites? "nogoodniks", "wily pirates" etc?
It's obvious that cnet is so in hock to corporate interests (http://is.gd/n2zOTC) that it can't even see straight anymore. Hello - monopolist media are putting their blood funnels into our wallets daily and cnet this this is alright, happily telling us how it's oh so nice that our servile government is now censoring the internet for us? Earth to CNET - please get back on the side of USERS>
Cnet
Cnet
anonymous 23 March, 2013 14:56
Reasons for Piracy:
1. Release dates are different across the world
2. CInemas extort on popcorn, drink prices
3. Many films are '3D' when in actual fact they only have a few seens in 3D, and that has an increased ticket price.
4. BLu-rays cost too much
Simon Cave 23 March, 2013 15:11
To the above poster , which site do I go on to download popcorn and soft drinks , and do they also do the pick n mix ??
anonymous 23 March, 2013 15:20
If everything wasn't so expensive people wouldn't bother pirating. Why go to your local shops to buy videos, music when it's all just a click away and for free, also? It's not hurting them as much as they're saying because they're still creating more content. They're just seeing this way as means for increasing profit on what they make; which overall will not. People will use proxys, use different torrent sites etc. Where there's a will, there's a way. In the long run all they'll do is stop people from even using, watching anything.
- Jonathan
NickMUK 23 March, 2013 16:58
I agree that price is the major factor. Going to the cinema is ridiculously overpriced and even when my friends and I do go, we only go when it's Orange Wednesdays, and even then we always smuggle in contraband rather than buy anything from the venue. I recently noticed at my local Vue they are selling 330ml of beer for over £3 a go. When a DVD or BR comes out, again, why pay so much for what you can get for free, often before it even goes on sale? It doesn't make any sense for the consumer.
The market is governed by the consumer, if the consumer is unwilling to pay then the market needs to respond. The response they should be providing is to have more competitive prices and offer better value for money rather than go crying to the courts and threaten legal action over the consumers if they can't get their own way. Isn't that in a way some kind of monopoly??
anonymous 23 March, 2013 17:22
Make google and other big search engines block the torrents in searches
anonymous 23 March, 2013 18:24
right on, that last comment!
Meleagru 23 March, 2013 19:54
It's not just a matter of price. Some content you can't find anywhere but on torrent sites. Old films, obscure music, ancient games, region locked content etc. Gabe Newell put it best: "Piracy is always a distribution problem". If I can't find something to purchase with money but it's available on torrents sites, who exactly stands to lose? Copyright laws are in desperate need of change. The means of spreading content have changed dramatically and you can't just follow old rules anymore.
anonymous 23 March, 2013 19:59
How about increasing the price of cinema tickets, as that's really were people will be able to get the best experience of the film. You will then get a unique code with your purchased ticket that will allow you to download the movie in HD format once it is released on various digital outlets. This will mean film companies will get higher revenues from the film but also decrease the amount of illegal downloads. Win win for everyone I think.
anonymous 23 March, 2013 20:57
American TV shows come to the UK very late, if at all. BluRays are very over priced. Cinema is full of 3d rubbish no one wants to see.
Also Downloads does not equal lost sales. 99% of what people pirate/download they would never have considered buying.
anonymous 23 March, 2013 22:27
end of society. no money. bent politicient. your neighbour hates you. so does your local council.
no jobs. immigrants. eu. gay union. blah blah blah. get ready for the end.
anonymous 24 March, 2013 01:07
A lot of my favourite musoc artists use torrent websites as a means of getting their free tracks to their fans without having to pay a fee on normal file sharing sites. Most of the artists use kat as their main torrent host so this is going to damage their growth as artists.
Thankfully the way most torrwnt clients work, you can still get the files from people peering/seeding.
I hope that people realise that theres a lot of people that use torrent host sites as a means of getting their art to the masses, without a bandwidth limit being placed on their files unless they go to a premium service.
anonymous 24 March, 2013 07:07
A download does not equal a lost sale. But let the BPI try and cling to their out of date business moddle. Yes Lets let the BPI push all sorts of crap through our courts sensoring the internet because surely they know best? Wrong! These greedy fatcats will screw you, your children, your children's dogs, cats, goldfishes and any unfortunate parties you care to name over. They also believe you should come to the conclusion that your a terrible person who steals money from the verry hands of bands like JLS (TM) while cackling all the time. There for your a terible person who should kill themselves and leave all your earthly possessions to JLS (TM) for all the times You watched them on youtube without paying, Torrented their stuff because it was too terrible to payfor etc etc. It's no better than what scum of the earth like you deserve according to them.
anonymous 24 March, 2013 07:13
Drop the prices of the hard copies and they will sell just fine because people generally do prefer to own hard copies. The companies aren't massively losing out anyway, the greedy toerags just aren't getting what they'd like.
Up the minimum wage significantly and maybe the average person could afford to blow their money on entertainment but as it is, eating and having a roof over our heads is a priority!
Bunch of bloody crooks!
anonymous 24 March, 2013 10:50
I think that this companies should start their torrent sites so at least they get something out of their content being shared and also get xtra revenue while hosting other people sharing
Tor 24 March, 2013 11:57
What a wasted of memory going through the courts.
people can just uses TOR
https://www.torproject.org/
or
https://privacyprotector.eu/
and many others ......
anonymous 24 March, 2013 13:35
99% of what i download are either tv programs that everybody else takes for granted and watches on their tv, except i can only get about twelve channels and most of those are kids or shopping!
OR, tv programs from around the world.
I don't download music as i like to buy the cd and would rather go to the cinema to watch a movie.
I also download, and consider it my duty to do so, all of the Formula 1 races that SKY have robbed me of watching for free!
Just as i believe it is everyone's duty to kick Bernie Ecclestone in the shins if they see him, for being responsible for the SKY deal!
And if anybody is reading this who recorded today's race from Malaysia, please upload it :)
anonymous 24 March, 2013 13:57
Unfortunately for some of us, not all torrents are illegal or breaking copyright, but certain torrest-listing sites will be blocked in a censorship move. I acknowledge there should not be copies of films and music (and software) floating about for free, but given some firms have dropped prices in some countries (eg Microsoft dropped the price of Windows XP in Thailand to kill off the use of pirate copies by making the official version about $40) it shows they can make 'product' more affordable, if they wish. Maybe the deals they make with film stars/ pop stars/ shareholder promises should be scaled back and the prices dropped too.
I won't buy any CD costing more than 5 quid, and won't pay inflated prices for a live show in theatre or a music venue, and it's only by 'voting with our wallet' that the prices will come down. If people were willing to boycott designer labels while they charge exhorbitant amounts, (whether that's for clothes, footwear, even mobile phones) then the "market forces" should cause the suppliers to drop prices.
At the right price point, it's not worth the hassle of getting a pirate copy, you just pay the (modest) "going rate" and everyone is happy.
anonymous 24 March, 2013 13:59
should have mentioned the things I sometimes download are Linux distributions via torrent when I said not all are illegal
anonymous 24 March, 2013 15:40
I think overseas should charge a flat yearly fee to view their licensed TV content rather than us having to pay for Sky or Cable. It may be ok for some, but for me they don't offer all the shows that I like to watch. I would gladly pay for a yearly license to be able to access TV channel sites in other countries.
anonymous 25 March, 2013 09:39
Personally it's not an issue of cost. I use torrent sites to download tv programs (or obscure media that is no longer commercially available) so as to prevent the episodes being spoiled by reading major plot twists or talking points on internet and from stateside friends over voice chat etc. We live in a global community now, connected to people all over the world but the tv networks are still operating in a very draconian fashion for the most part. I would happily pay for HBO go if they'd let me but they won't. they expect me to subscribe to a Sky package instead. That's not viable given how poor Sky's BB service is in my area. I do however support the shows I follow buy buying their season boxed set once a year
anonymous 25 March, 2013 10:31
I think this more of an economy issue, if the 1% super rich weren't hogging all the worlds wealth and poor weren't in poverty then the average joe would have enough cash spare to buy instead of downloading illegally
redmozzy 25 March, 2013 14:21
Everyone is discussing piracy on torrent sites but what about all the legit stuff on there? Torrents are a delivery method for files not just copyrighted material. I use Linux and download the releases via torrents as it's usually the faster way and saves the distros tracking up huge bandwidth bills.
These stupid rules will never stop file sharing, I still use the pirate bay using proxies on my sky broadband and if that didn't work, they're is always VPN into Sweden.
Idiots
anonymous 25 March, 2013 20:04
this reminds me ever so much of the war on drugs and prohibition of alcohol. it wont work.
anonymous 26 March, 2013 14:10
I found this method work: http://kickasstorrents.eu
anonymous 29 March, 2013 22:35
I just tether my mobile phone to view any blocked sites then connect back to my speedy virgin media bb after. Also I use torrents for tv episodes that I have the right to record in the uk. I think the only way is companys need to stop being gready blank dvd 20p plus case and ink costs £1 approx. what they sell it at £15? then 3 weeks later it drops few quid ect... where as if it was say £3-5 like the dodgy dealer charges in the pub for a copy i wouldn't use them id go shop.
anonymous 30 March, 2013 22:14
They can try to stop us but they won't stop us.
anonymous 3 April, 2013 18:57
As of yesterday, although I can access PB and eztv none of the torrents download anymore.
Now I'm not a torrent expert but I'm begining to suspect my ISP BE / BEthere is now bloacking the trackers. Ive found about 1 in 20 will download but the rest are just dead :(
I'd be interested to know if anyone else has found this an issue with BE in the last few days?
anonymous 5 April, 2013 19:54
I cannot justify NOT downloading from torrent sites when the over-inflated prices of movie, music and TV content is used to feed greedy executives that provide negative value to the available services.
I also pay a TV subscription for a service I have not turned on for the last three years because there is nothing of value being broadcast, and I am no longer prepared to put up with the increasingly frequent SPAM known as TV advertisements.
These people have had their day, they are desperately trying to cling to the last vestiges of the free, chauffeur-driven ride they created for themselves, while using their ill-gotten gains to silence anyone who tries to take back the right to entertainment of a fair price
anonymous 9 April, 2013 12:33
why are they so impotent when it comes to pornography.
anonymous 12 April, 2013 10:18
www.legalsounds.com
anonymous 14 April, 2013 08:31
I love torrents as an above commenter said if you can find it in the shops download it FACT.
also i fully agree with dropping the pricing look at HMV for god sake they blamed high rents but since the recession people want value for money and 15-20 for a BR or DVD or CD is a joke.
I personally like to download older films and some software,
I think once a film has been on release on DVD or BR for over 12 months it should half in price and then again after two years I would gladly buy a hard copy then.
skymanjust 14 April, 2013 12:53
i work at a music venue and the price of the tickets are set by the promoter too hi in a lot of cases
if the dropped the prices thay would get more poeple in the venue in a lot of cases thay are money
i know touring cost are high be course of fuel but that down to the shell and bp of the world and don't get me started on them .we started offering the live gig recorded that night to the Customers at £15 the artist spoke the venue all throw the show and it came on a memory stick bracelet ithink
thats the way it should be at a lower price this would stop music piracy as for movies it cost on average 20p a disc to make you do the maths
anonymous 18 April, 2013 18:10
I download and watch/ listen if I like it I buy it. If I don't then it pretty much gets deleted and never seen or heard again. Plus do we not live in a capitalist society? Its the very foundation not sink or swim? If record companies are so worried why are the knocking out material that people feel that they don't need to buy? My solution stop knocking out crap for a quick buck.
anonymous 22 April, 2013 10:40
crap i will continue you to download through proxy server
long live the torrents
i still use piratebay
kickasstorrents
try this
http://kat.kleisauke.nl/
anonymous 12 May, 2013 17:44
I download it. If i like it i buy it. If not i delete it.
Sort of naughty,i know! but its like a try before you buy. I know not all have this attitude but many have.