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ISPs urged to block fileshare sites

March 22, 2011

UK rights holders from the music and film industries have identified about 100 websites that they want ISPs to block. Under a voluntary code content owners and ISPs are trying to work out, rights owners would pass evidence of illegal filesharing sites to ISPs, which would then take action against those sites.

However, the proposals are rife with complications. ISPs are understood to be open to the idea of cutting off access to some infringing sites, but argue that an impartial judge needs to decide which get blocked. It is also unclear whether content owners or ISPs would be liable to pay compensation to a site that argues that it has been unfairly censored.

The communications minister, Ed Vaizey, is leading a series of negotiations aimed at developing  a voluntary code on internet piracy, including site blocking.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Content, Piracy, Policy, Regulation