Today has seen a significant move towards protecting copyright owners in the UK, but a significant step back for the openness of the Internet.
In a case brought by the MPA, the High Court in London ruled that BT had to block access to Newzbin2, a website that carries links to pirated content.
It seems that, from now on, all ISPs will be liable for the content carried on their networks. The danger, of course, is that this is a slippery slope that could result in censorship and the potential blocking of legitimate content.
Considering that sites like Google, Bing and YouTube point to, or even host, endless streams of copyright infringing content, will they be blocked ?
But this is a significant win for the movie studios, and indeed for tv producers and musicians.
In a case brought by the MPA, the High Court in London ruled that BT had to block access to Newzbin2, a website that carries links to pirated content.
It seems that, from now on, all ISPs will be liable for the content carried on their networks. The danger, of course, is that this is a slippery slope that could result in censorship and the potential blocking of legitimate content.
Considering that sites like Google, Bing and YouTube point to, or even host, endless streams of copyright infringing content, will they be blocked ?
But this is a significant win for the movie studios, and indeed for tv producers and musicians.