[x-pubpol] Blocking BitTorrent search sites 'ineffective': Pirate Bay ban lifted for Dutch ISPs

[Joly MacFie]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/29/dutch_court_pirate_bay_ban_lifted/

Two ISPs in The Netherlands have overturned a court order that forced them
to block access to BitTorrent search engine the Pirate Bay.

Internet providers in the Euro nation were told by a district judge in
2012<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/26/tpb_block_circumventing_proxy_site_shut_down/>
to
seal off the website from their customers, at the request of anti-piracy
campaigners.

Two ISPs, Ziggo and XS4All, took the case to the Court of Appeals in The
Hague - which yesterday ruled in their favor and reversed the banning order.

Crucially, the appeal judges said blocking the Pirate Bay had not deterred
punters from using the BitTorrent network to illegally download copyrighted
material. The ruling (in
Dutch)<http://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2014:88>
noted
that torrent and magnet link traffic for copyrighted stuff had *increased*since
the Pirate Bay blockade was put in place as users sought out alternative
search engines.

"The service providers' subscribers in any case mainly use proxies or
resort to other torrent sites," the appeals court said. "The blockade is
therefore ineffective."

Anti-piracy group BREIN, which applied for the Pirate Bay banning order
back in 2012, yesterday criticized the appeals court - and claimed Dutch
internet traffic to the Pirate Bay was down despite the overall increase in
torrenting of copyrighted videos and music.

BREIN director Tim Kuik said his group, which is left with Ziggo and
XS4All's 400,000 euro legal bill, is considering filing an appeal to the
Dutch Supreme Court.

"The verdict of the court is negative for the development of the legal
online market because it needs protection against illegal competition,"
said Kuik.

"The purpose of the blocking of The Pirate Bay of course is to decrease the
infringements via The Pirate Bay. It is contradictory that the court finds
that this goal indeed is achieved but then still rejects the blocking
because users can go to other sites."

The carriers themselves, meanwhile, celebrated the ruling. XS4All called
the decision<https://blog.xs4all.nl/2014/01/28/internetblokkade-the-pirate-bay-opgeheven/>
a
"victory for the free internet."

Three other Dutch ISPs - UPC, KPN and Tele 2 - are still subject to the
original banning order and are maintaining their blockades; their hearings
against the injunction will be held in March, it is understood. (R)


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