Pirate link aggregator Newzbin vows to retaliate against blocks

The original Newzbin site was shut down after a High Court ruling in 2010 ordered it to take down links to copyrighted films and TV programmes.

Newzbin had implied it had authority to permit the copying of films and had provided members with the means to do so, the court ruled.

A High Court ruling is expected this week on an application by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) for an injunction to compel BT to stop its UK customers accessing Newzbin 2.

The ruling could pave the way for further website blocking, according to the BBC.

But one of Newzbin 2's administrators, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC that the site would attempt to "ensure continuity of service to our UK users" if a judge rules against it again.

He warned that keeping the site up may involve breaking BT's Cleanfeed filter, which the ISP currently uses to block access to sites featuring child pornography.

The Newzbin 2 administrator said that instead of trying to block websites, the MPA should learn from the music industry and license work at "non rip-off prices" the public regard as fair and in a form they find convenient.

Film, TV series, recorded music and software are the industries most hurt by digital piracy, according to a 2010 report by the International Chamber of Commerce's Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy.

The report predicts that digital piracy could cost Europe €240bn and 1.2 million jobs by 2015.

This story was first published by Computer Weekly
 

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