News BT under pressure to block Newzbin

BT could block Usenet indexing website Newzbin if the Motion Picture Association gets its way.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2011/06/28/bt-under-pressure-to-block-newzbin/1

 

Tbh I think they might as well block it - people are profiting from crime and therefore should be stopped.

 

Not sure why the MPA has such a hard-on for Newzbin. Is it because they technically 'won' in a British court yet it is brazenly back up and running under new management? Or because they charge money for access?

It seems so petty to go after a private membership site when places like The Pirate Bay are only a google away.

Maybe my mistake was trying to understand the motivations of the MPA.

 

Never heard of newzbin until now. I'm sure a LOT of people will say the same. Good job, MPA. I'll now go check out this site.

 

If you want to use the site you'll be able to use a proxy won't you? Surely this would only stop those that aren't interesting in cheating the system in some way, which probably isn't the people using the site.

 

Waste of time IMO. If it gets blocked another will spring up to replace it. They will always be playing catch-up, and the money wasted in the process will be enormous.

 

The merry-go-round of piracy shutdowns continues...

It'll make no difference whatsoever - I'm pretty sure Newzbin isn't the only Usenet indexing site and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last.

People profit from crimes far worse than piracy/copyright infringement. Burglary, drugs, prostitution, people trafficking... just to name a few... Not exactly the MPAA's remit, but they might as well be p***ing in the wind for all the good it will do to shut down Newzbin. If it's money they're concerned about, I've got a better suggestion: stop pouring money into DRM.

 

Of course it isn't - there's a similar site around that doesn't get mentioned much but does mostly what Newzbin does. Then there's BinSearch, which is completely automated and just indexes everything available on news servers.

 

Seems like a pointless waste of money for the MPA to do this. There are plenty of sites out there that index the newgroups, this is just one of them. I'm sure that there will be ways around any block that BT enforce anyway.

Instead of expensive legal battles over individual sites, what MPA would be better spending their money on is why people want to pirate films in the first place. Perhaps if legal digital distribution technologies and integration of such weren't: A) a couple of years behind illegal ways of doing it B). Restrictive C). Overpriced, then people would be more inclined to use them.

 

If they can't stop them they may as well join them.
The MPA should release all movies for free that either have watermarks or are of a lesser quality and then they can charge people 25p per week lol - people that go to the cinema will still go, people that buy DVD / BlueRay will still buy them.

 

What a waste of time. If they get an injunction against Newzbin it will just close and open up under a different name.

Tbh, Newzbin wont stop pirates from being pirates, Newzbin is only there out of convenience.

Why not block facebook under child abuse reasons. Or stop the Daily Mail from distributing bull?

 

I really dislike this move and hope that it doesn't hold up in court.

Regardless of any argument such as 'Piracy is hurting the industry' or 'it wouldn't make a difference as another will soon replace it'. The problem I have is the fact that I am being forced to obey the law instead of me choosing to.

It is my right to choose whether I follow the rules, if I choose not to obey and I can expect punishment that has been predefined. This is the very foundation of our law system. I can, for example, commit murder. There is nothing physically stopping me from doing so other then my belief that killing is wrong. It is ME that chooses the correct path not a system of restraint enforced on me.

Removing this right, in my mind, removes my very freedom. Something that I do not wish to give up quite so easily, even more so considering the relatively minor offence.

 

I hope BT win.
Not because I support piracy (which I don't), but because of the legal president this would set. It would be the start of a slipery slope of sensorship by corporations. Simply viewing this website does not mean your commiting a crime. This is another example of copyright owners trying to treat people as guilty unless proven innocent.

 

To misquote B5's Ambassador Kosh:-
"Once the avalanche has started, it is to late for the mountain to vote."

 

The first rule about usenet is.... don't talk about usenet!

 

Agreed.

 

I love that the music/film world have to bring these things to court themselves, kinda shows no one else gives a ****

 

You dont have the right to break the law.

 

It's well known that the govt. wants to greatly expand the list of ISP level ,blocked and blacklisted sites to a new list that goes way beyond the stuff everyone agrees should be restricted. Their plans are to widen the list to include all sites that host or link to copyright infringement material and more worryingly all 'harmful' content -whatever that is , as it'll obviously be very subjective and could include political sites .

This, combined with an end to net neutrality and the new national default ISP filter, will in all likelihood change the net beyond recognition in the UK -this isn't scaremongering it's coming soon.