20,000 pirate websites blocked
The lockdown approach was very controversial at the beginning of the last decade, but it is becoming more and more normalized. Dozens of countries today have legal or procedural options to request blocking of these pirate websites. The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has been the driving force behind many of these blockades, and the group recently revealed the global scale of this effort.
In just a few years, following the formation of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) by the MPA and other partners, which leads anti-piracy efforts worldwide, it has established itself as the dominant anti-piracy force, facilitating seizures, arrests and convictions on several continents. While going after the operators of pirate sites and services is often the preferred option, these people are not always easy to locate. When that’s the case, site blocking comes into play.
Site blocking measures are often directed at ISPs in the form of injunctions. These allow rights holders require blocks to internet providers, without holding companies directly responsible. In addition, some countries have adopted site-specific blocking schemes, which approve blocking measures through an administrative process without direct court oversight.
The figure will grow when it can be done in the United States
The MPA is pleased with these blockade achievements, but one country is notably absent from this global effort: the United States. According to MPA Senior Executive Vice President Karyn Temple, site blocking is more complicated in the US since the law does not explicitly provide the option of these court orders.
“We don’t use it in the United States because currently there is no specific provision in copyright law of the United States to allow us to do so. So it hasn’t been something that people have done on a regular basis in the US, but we have a very effective enforcement program overseas where there are a number of countries that have site blocking regimes,” says Karyn Temple.