Finding a source for illegal music and video downloads could be about to get more difficult after UK internet providers were asked to block access to 21 more sites suspected of serial copyright infringement.
After orders to deny customers access to the likes of IsoHunt, The Pirate Bay, EZTV and Kickass Torrents, ISPs have now been asked to blacklist sites like Torrentz, TorrentHound, BitSnoop and Monova.
BT and Virgin have already confirmed the blocking will come into effect in the next two weeks, while Sky and TalkTalk are yet to confirm their plans.
A spokesperson for BT told Recombu Digital: "BT will only block access to websites engaged in online copyright infringement when ordered by a court to do so. BT has been ordered to block access to these websites, and will do so within the timeframe set out in the court order."
Virgin issued a similar statement, calling its decision 'responsible. Spokesperson Gareth Mead said: "We've received court orders requiring us to block a further 21 file-sharing sites found to be infringing on copyright. As a responsible ISP we obey court orders addressed to the company."
Has the tide turned?
The full list of sites to fall under the court order is as follows: 1337x, Abmp3, BeeMP3, BitSnoop, Bomb-Mp3, eMp3World, ExtraTorrent, FileCrop, FilesTube, Monova, Mp3Juices, Mp3lemon, Mp3Raid, Mp3skull, NewAlbumReleases, Rapidlibrary, TorrentCrazy, TorrentDownloads, TorrentHound, Torrentreactor, Torrentz.
After years of futile attempts to stop the pirates, the content providers finally seem to be getting somewhere against the torrent sites.
How long is it until they're all blocked? Or will they continue to pop up on different servers under different names until the end of time? Let us know your thoughts.
