Features
BPI Blocks 21 More ISPs
UK music industry trade body the BPI has forced some of the UK’s biggest internet service providers including BSkyB, BT and Virgin Media to block access to 21 popular file-sharing websites.
The ISPs, which also include Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk and Telefonica, have received High Court papers giving them until Oct. 30 to block the sites.
The BPI said it was forced to seek a court order after the infringing websites “declined to co-operate in any meaningful way.”
“We asked the sites to stop infringing copyright, but unfortunately they did not and we were left with little choice but to apply to the court,” said BPI chief exec Geoff Taylor.
The High Court order to block the websites marks an escalation in the battle against piracy by the music industry, raising the number of infringing websites blocked to a total of 25, including The Pirate Bay.
The BPI and other copyright holders appear to think site blocking is a more effective way of combating piracy than targeting individuals under the Digital Economy Act.