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Archive for the ‘blocking and filtering’ Category

Hollywood Wins Court Case – ISP Ordered to Block NewzBin2: “

While major entertainment corporations are working hard at censoring the internet in the United States through the PROTECT IP Act, it corporate sponsored censorship has already become a reality in the UK thanks to what some have referred to as a landmark court case.

Legally speaking, the internet got a little more censored recently. The Telegraph is reporting that Hollywood has won a major court case in which they are now, for now, able to compel ISPs to block access to, really, any website they pick and choose in the name of combating copyright infringement. At stake was general access to a website known as NewzBin2.

NewzBin2 is a website that offers an index of NZB files. NZB indexing sites are generally simply a list of small files that are merely metadata. The NZB files points to a file made available on one of the oldest known file-sharing networks that is still used quite a lot – UseNet. The file is a bit like a .torrent file, only the file is on a server – or maybe several servers – instead of on other people’s computers. The actual downloading typically doesn’t happen on the NZB indexing site nor is the NZB indexing site keeping track of any data flowing to and from the user.

An NZB file may be convenient, but it simply isn’t necessary for downloading anything on UseNet (access to UseNet providers, sure, but not the NZB file)

So, knowing this, the only thing the court ruling really does is enable Hollywood to censor the internet in the UK. Blocking NewzBin2 will amount to nothing in the end except maybe a temporary minor inconvenience for some people. Many already point to the fact that an encrypted connection will circumvent whatever the ISP throws down against its own users – and if you’re using UseNet regularly, there’s a good chance you’d know about how to hide your connection from ISP level censorship anyway, I think.

What is a little disconcerting is what the judge said in his ruling. From the report:

‘In my judgment it follows that BT has actual knowledge of other persons using its service to infringe copyright: it knows that the users and operators of Newbin2 infringe copyright on a large scale, and in particular infringe the copyrights of the Studios in large numbers of their films and television programmes,’ said Justice Arnold.

In opposing the order, BT had argued that Newzbin2 also links to lawful content, but the court said it was far outweighed by pirated material and that ‘BT’s best shot was to point to a reference to the 1891 Lancashire census’.

If the judge is suggesting that ISPs know what everyone on their network is doing, then isn’t that like saying that the operators of a major subway network know exactly where everyone in the network is going? Sure, whoever is controlling the network might be able to track a handful of individuals, but trying to track every person is way too demanding as the amount of man hours to make sure it knows the movements of every user is simply impractical.

Even scarier is the suggestion that lawful content is no excuse to stop the blocking of a website. It’s very difficult to really know where to begin with that. How much content has to be infringing in order for the website to be blocked? Will it have to be more than 50% infringing content? 25% infringing content? One song that happens to have three notes that are similar to another song? Where’s the bar set here? That point is not reflected in the report and if the judgement doesn’t specify what the level is, it’s not completely illogical to suggest that Hollywood can really block every website in existence. How many websites have at least a reference to copyrighted material (i.e. a message on a forum saying ‘Listening to Kiss right now.’)?

The amusing part is the fact that the censorship of NewzBin2 will be put in place in the Fall. No doubt this will give NewzBin2 plenty of time to figure out how to bi-pass this measure for it’s UK users. Even better is the fact that this only affects BT currently and similar motions will be brought to other ISPs. I don’t see how NewzBin2 simply changing it’s website to another name for its British users won’t defeat this in any way. Call the site ‘Fuzzybunniesjumpinginthefield.com’ and allow access to the NewzBin2 services. If you plan on finding ways to circumvent British censorship in order to download the entire Adbobe Suites in the future, you only have until the end of the Summer holidays to figure it out!

In the end, this will do little more than damage the internet infrastructure as more methods to circumvent censorship measures will be developed. Activities like this will probably have an affect on users wanting to use the internet for legitimate purposes, but it’s unlikely that this will even come close to putting a dent on file-sharing.

Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.”

(Via ZeroPaid.com.)

High court forces BT to block file-sharing website | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Win for Hollywood studios as UK high court rules BT must block access to Newzbin2

Mark Sweney and Josh Halliday
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 July 2011 10.58 BST

Hollywood film studios won a landmark UK high court ruling on Thursday forcing BT to block access to an illegal file-sharing website accused of operating ‘on a grand scale’.

The Motion Picture Association, the trade body whose members include Warner Bros, Fox, Disney and Paramount Pictures, has been granted an order requiring BT — the UK’s biggest internet service provider — to block its customers’ access to the website Newzbin2.

Thursday’s verdict will be viewed by the creative industries as a landmark that could set a precedent for the widespread blocking of illegal filesharing websites by ISPs, helping to stem the flow of digital piracy in the UK.

‘In my judgment it follows that BT has actual knowledge of other persons using its service to infringe copyright: it knows that the users and operators of Newzbin2 infringe copyright on a large scale, and in particular infringe the copyrights of the studios in large numbers of their films and television programmes,’ said Justice Arnold in his ruling at the high court in London.

‘[BT] knows that the users of Newzbin2 include BT subscribers, and it knows those users use its service to receive infringing copies of copyright works made available to them by Newzbin2,’ Arnold added.

BT had argued that forcing it to ban its 6 million UK customers from accessing a website would usher in a new wave of online censorship.

However, the creative industries claim website blocking could save them hundreds of millions of pounds in illegal downloads.

The MPA said that Newzbin2 makes unlawful copies of television programmes and films, and receives in excess of £1m a year from its 700,000 users.

‘This ruling from Justice Arnold is a victory for millions of people working in the UK creative industries and demonstrates that the law of the land must apply online,’ said Chris Marcich, MPA managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ‘This court action was never an attack on ISPs, but we do need their cooperation to deal with the Newzbin site, which continually tries to evade the law and judicial sanction.’

The film industry’s fight to block Newzbin stretches back to March last year, when the high court ordered the site to take down all of its pirated material and pay damages to the studios.

The three men behind the Newzbin Ltd – Chris Elsworth, Thomas Hurst and Lee Skillen – sold all of their shares in the company to David Harris shortly before the trial. Newzbin Ltd went into administration shortly after the ruling and avoided the huge payouts.

Months later a clone site appeared operating anonymously from Sweden. Rights holders said they had no choice but to force BT to block UK users’ access to the website, saying all other legal avenues had been exhausted.

Simon Milner, director of group industry policy at BT, said the latest judgment means rights holders will now have to prove in court that a website infringes copyright before it is blocked.

Milner added that the judgment puts the Digital Economy Act voluntary blocking scheme, drawn up at industry roundtable meetings earlier this year with Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, in an uncertain position.

‘[The judgment] is actually helpful and we welcome it because it clarifies a complex area of law and shows that rights holders can use the copyright laws in this country. It means they have to prove a site is infringing before [a] court and get a court order,’ he said.

Milner declined to reveal how much it will cost ISPs such as BT to block infringing websites.

US copyright holders and internet providers agree voluntary website blocking agreement: “Internet service providers (ISPs) in the US will introduce measures to combat online copyright infringement under a new voluntary system agreed with copyright owners.“

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

Review into viability of website blocking rules to be announced soon, Government says: “A report into a whether website blocking measures are viable is to be published shortly, the Culture Minister has said.“

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

Internet disconnection breaches free expression rights, says co-operation body | Pinsent Masons LLP

OUT-LAW News, 20/07/2011

Countries that block internet access on copyright infringement grounds are stifling freedom of expression and the free flow of information, according to a new report on the internet and freedom of speech.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said that website blocking was ‘an extreme measure’ that countries should not use as a means of punishment. The OSCE is made up of 56 member countries and aims to identify, prevent and solve areas of political, economic and other areas of conflict.

‘As blocking mechanisms are not immune from significant deficiencies, they may result in the blocking of access to legitimate sites and content,’ the OSCE said in a report (233-page / 1.88MB PDF) on Freedom of Expression on the Internet.

‘Further, blocking is an extreme measure and has a very strong impact on freedom of expression and the free flow of information. Participating States should therefore refrain from using blocking as a permanent solution or as a means of punishment,’ the report said.

‘Blocking of online content can only be justified if in accordance with these standards and done pursuant to court order and where absolutely necessary. Blocking criteria should always be made public and provide for legal redress,’ the report said.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights and in the UK by the Human Rights Act.

In the UK provisions within the Digital Economy Act allow the Culture Secretary to draw up new regulations that would see courts decide whether to force ISPs to block access to pirated copyright works.

The DEA also allows Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, to draw up new regulations to detail how internet service providers (ISPs) should be involved in attempts to stop copyright infringement.

In a draft code of practice published in May last year, Ofcom said that internet users should receive three warning letters from their ISP if they are suspected of copyright infringements online.

Details of illegal filesharers that receive more than three letters in a year would be added to a blacklist, the draft code said. Copyright holders would have access to the list to enable them to identify infringers, it said.

The Government is expected to approve Ofcom’s draft code next year.

BT, the largest UK ISP, is also currently fighting a court battle against the Motion Picture Association (MPA) arguing that it should not have to cut off its customers’ access to a copyright infringing website.

The MPA is challenging BT under Section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and is seeking a court injunction against BT to compel it to act.

Section 97A of the Act gives the High Court, or in Scotland the Court of Session, the power to grant an injunction against a service provider if it had ‘actual knowledge’ that someone has used its service to infringe copyright.

The Act does not specify what purpose an injunction must serve. Section 97A implements the requirements of the EU Copyright Directive which states that countries must ensure that copyright holders have the right to apply for injunctions against intermediaries, such as ISPs, whose services are used to infringe copyright.

Blocking measures also exist in other countries. In France a controversial ‘three strikes’ policy currently exists where a court can punish serial copyright infringers by ordering ISPs to disconnect them from the internet for up to a month.

A voluntary agreement between ISPs and copyright holders in the US was also recently formed which could result in ISPs slowing or blocking customers’ web browsing.

The OSCE criticised its members that do not have measures in place to ensure net neutrality. Net neutrality is a principle which ensures that ISP customers have the right to access all online information equally rather than having easier access to content from companies that have paid their ISP.

‘Network neutrality is an important prerequisite for the Internet to be equally accessible and affordable to all,’ the OSCE report said. ‘It is, therefore, concerning that over 80% of the OSCE participating States do not have legal provisions in place yet to guarantee net neutrality.’

‘Users should have the greatest possible access to Internet-based content, applications, or services of their choice without the Internet traffic they use being managed, prioritized, or discriminated by the network operators,’ the report said.

The OSCE also said that countries must ensure that their residents can access the internet.

‘Everyone should have a right to participate in the information society, and the states have a responsibility to ensure citizens’ access to the internet is guaranteed,’ the OSCE report said.

Technology law news is also available from Bootlaw, a free resource for technology start-ups, with regular events hosted by Pinsent Masons.

See: The OSCE report (233-page / 1.88MB PDF)

The Associated Press: 56-nation Internet review shows wide differences

(AP) – 08.07.2011

VIENNA (AP) — An international review showing wide variances of Internet freedom gives Finland the best marks for making citizens’ access to a broadband connection a legal right.

But the 225-page report also expresses concern about the level of blocking practices encountered in some of the 56 states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The report, published Friday, notes that Turkey has decided to introduce a mandatory Internet filtering system effective Aug. 22.

It said this would be the first such restriction within the OSCE region, which encompasses Europe, Russia, North America and central Asian states.

The report was presented at OSCE headquarters in Vienna.

Internet blocking practices a concern, access is a human right, says OSCE media freedom representative at launch of OSCE-wide study – Representative on Freedom of the Media

08.07.2011

VIENNA, 8 July 2011 – The Internet should remain free and access should be considered a human right, said the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović at the presentation of a report on regulations affecting new media in the OSCE region today.

The study, commissioned by the office of the Representative and authored by Yaman Akdeniz, a professor at Istanbul Bilgi University, measures the level of Internet content regulation in the OSCE area and assesses national laws in light of OSCE commitments and international standards of free expression and access to information.

The Study on legal provisions and practices related to freedom of expression, the free flow of information and media pluralism on the Internet is the first ever OSCE-wide review of laws regulating the Internet. Mijatović said the rapid development of Internet technologies and growth in user numbers were factors that inspired the report, which offers recommendations on how to keep the Internet open.

‘We will use the study as an advocacy tool to promote speech-friendly Internet regulation in the OSCE participating States,’ Mijatović said. ‘Some governments already recognize access to the Internet as a human right. This trend should be supported as a crucial element of media freedom in the 21st century.’

The study found that some participating States had problems submitting information for the study because legal provisions or relevant statistics were not easily retrievable. It also emphasizes that this lack of clarity makes it difficult for users to understand Internet regulation regimes.

Akdeniz expressed concern about the level of blocking practices encountered in the OSCE region. ‘Restrictions to freedom of expression must comply with international norms. No compliance could lead to censorship,’ he said.

The Representative highlighted other key trends revealed in the survey. ‘Legislation in many countries does not recognize that freedom of expression and freedom of the media equally apply to Internet as a modern means of exercising these rights and in some of our states, ‘extremism’, terrorist propaganda, harmful content and hate speech are vaguely defined and may be widely interpreted to ban speech types that Internet users may not deem illegal,’ Mijatović said.

The study argues that filtering and blocking measures are in most cases incompatible with freedom of expression and the free flow of information, both of which are basic OSCE commitments.

It is also a concern that several countries allow for complete suspension of Internet services at times of war, in a state of emergency and in response to other security threats, added Mijatović.

OSCE warns of Europe-wide trend to restrict internet content – Monsters and Critics

Jul 8, 2011, 16:49 GMT

Vienna – More and more European governments are putting restrictions on internet use, the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) said Friday, warning that this trend could weaken democratic rights.

The Vienna-based organization issued a study covering 46 of its 56 member states which found that filtering nd blocking of online content nearly always violates the principles of free speech and the free flow of information.

‘Too many governments are really trying to suppress and to restrict,’ the OSCE’s chief media freedom observer, Dunja Mijatovic, told the German Press Agency dpa.

The study highlighted that content blocking, mostly of child pornography, happens in most Western European countries under voluntary arrangements between authorities and service providers, rather than under well-defined laws.

However, such ad-hoc arrangements might be used to block other types of content, said study author Yaman Akdeniz, a professor at Istanbul Bilgi University.

‘Other countries might rely on the same tools to block access to political speech,’ he said.

This ‘domino effect’ of Western regulation being adopted by countries further east is already observable, Akdeniz said, citing Kazakhstan as well as Turkey, where authorities are banning some 15,000 websites.

The study showed that 20 mostly eastern European and central Asian countries prohibit so-called extreme speech on the internet, aiming to prevent criticism of the state.

Akdeniz also warned against measures adopted by France and planned in Britain, which deny any internet access for users who have been found to violate copyright rules.

‘The study wanted to highlight at an early stage that what the UK and France are doing is not necessarily right …, before other OSCE participating states start to use this,’ he said.

BBC News: UK looks to US on piracy blocking

5 July 2011 Last updated at 15:21 GMT
UK looks to US on piracy blocking
Footballs, AFP/Getty Ways to stop websites illegally streaming sports matches should be investigated, said Ed Vaizey

Websites hosting pirated material could be blocked in the UK if the US introduces a similar system, according to culture minister Ed Vaizey.

He told a conference in London that internet providers in the States were ‘rumoured’ to be considering a voluntary filtering.

Such an agreement would be a ‘game changer’ elsewhere, said Mr Vaizey.

There have been no official announcements from the US to substantiate the minister’s claim.

To date, UK ISPs have resisted pressure from rights holders to police their users.
Odd attitude

Mr Vaizey struck a bullish note on the subject of copyright during his keynote speech at the Intellect Consumer Electronics conference.

‘If people are streaming live football without permission we should look at ways we can stop them,’ he said. ‘People have the right to earn money from content they create.’

However, he remained tight-lipped on what came out of last week’s meeting between UK ISPs and content providers to discuss website blocking.

Mr Vaizey’s suggestion that similar talks were taking place in the US was clearly intended to move forward the debate at home.

‘A voluntary agreement may come out of the US and if that does happen it could be a game-changer,’ he said.

In a dig at ISPs, he said he found ‘their attitude odd’, especially BT and TalkTalk’s failed legal challenge to the Digital Economy Act (DEA).

The DEA is aimed mainly at preventing piracy via peer-to-peer file-sharing but as people move away from that route, it also makes provision to block access to some websites.

It allows content providers to apply for an injunction against ISPs that do not restrict access to illegal streaming sites.

The Motion Picture Association has done just that, taking BT, the UK’s largest consumer ISP, to court over linking to members-only index site Newzbin.

The MPA wants BT to block Newzbin with the same system that stops access to sites hosting child sex abuse images.

The members-only website aggregates a large amount of the illegally copied material found on Usenet discussion forums.

The case is due to be heard next week.
Free speech
Mulberry handbag, Getty Few would complain about sites peddling fake handbags, said Mr Vaizey

Another conference speaker Neil Berkett, the chief executive of Virgin Media, said there was no current agreement between UK content providers and ISPs.

‘We still have a way to go to create an environment where the two sides see eye-to-eye,’ he said.

‘How do you ensure that content is protected in an age where a whole generation thinks that stealing is just fine?’ he asked.

‘Beating them over the head with a stick is not a good start. What is needed is models that encourage people to change their behaviour, subscriptions that are cheap enough so that people think ‘I’m better off getting a full array of quality music’ ‘, he said.

The US government has pledged to pursue those who link to illegal streaming sites, including extraditing individuals from other countries.

The issue has attracted some high-profile critics, such as Google chairman Eric Schmidt.

He vowed that the search engine would fight any attempts at web blocking. He warned that putting blocking measures into legislation would set a dangerous precedent for censorious governments around the world who might be tempted to use it as a political tool.

Mr Vaizey said that critics of website blocking displayed a degree of hypocrisy.

‘They [the US government] have been tough but if they took down a website linking to fake handbags no-one would bat an eyebrow,’ he said. ‘As soon as it is a site sharing music it becomes an issue about freedom of speech.’

OSCE media freedom official to present report on Internet content regulation – Representative on Freedom of the Media

VIENNA, 6 July 2011 – Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, will hold a news conference on Friday, 8 July, to present a new study on government efforts to regulate the Internet in the OSCE area.

The study, commissioned by Mijatović’s office, indicates that OSCE participating States are increasingly regulating content on the Internet. It argues that access to the Internet is a basic prerequisite for exercising the right to freedom of expression and the right to impart and receive information, and offers recommendations designed to maintain freedom of expression and the media on the Internet.

The OSCE 56 OSCE participating States created the Representative on Freedom of the Media institution in December 1997 to observe media freedom related developments in the OSCE region and to warn of violations of freedom of expression.

Journalists are invited to a news conference with the Representative and the author of the study, Yaman Akdeniz, a Professor of Law at Istanbul Bilgi University’s Faculty of Law, at 11 a.m. on Friday, 8 July, in room 201 of the Hofburg Congress Centre.

“

(Via .)