IFPI Pressure Forces ISPs to Block Another File-Sharing Site
Written by enigmax on March 06, 2008Following pressure from the IFPI, a court has ruled that ISPs should be forced to block access to a file-sharing link site. The Haifa District Court in Israel has ordered that the country’s three largest ISPs should block access to HttpShare.com, a BitTorrent and http hyperlink-only website.
It hasn’t been so long ago that in order to shut down or block access to a file-sharing site, it would be necessary for the site to be breaking the law. BitTorrent sites located in countries where there is no such offense as ‘facilitation’ of copyright infringement operate legally, and this is why sites such as The Pirate Bay continue to thrive.
However, the lack of a legal basis to try to stop people from using such sites doesn’t hold back the likes of the IFPI. In February we reported how the IFPI successfully managed to convince a Danish court to block its users from accessing The Pirate Bay, despite the likelihood that this action breaches EU law. In the past, Turkey has blocked access to The Pirate Bay and Kuwait has recently blocked access to quite a few torrent sites in what appears to be a rising trend.
As attempts to actually close sites seems to be faltering, the IFPI is putting more effort into forcing ISPs to block access to them instead. The latest addition to this tactic comes from Israel, as the Haifa District Court - under pressure from twelve IFPI affiliated recording labels - has ordered the three biggest ISPs in Israel to block access to BitTorrent and http link site, HttpShare.com.
HttpShare does not carry any copyright material itself. Instead - and typically for this type of site - its users provide links to material stored elsewhere on popular file-hosting sites such as Rapidshare and MegaUpload, along with regular BitTorrent links.
According to a report, users trying to access the site recently from inside Israel have received a 404 error.
Haifa District Court Judge, Gideo Ginat said: “I order the respondents, that is Israeli internet service providers, to systematically block access to the illicit site, HttpShare, so that surfers cannot enter this site and utilize it in in order to impede upon the claimants’ copy rights,” while failing to mention a timescale for implementation, or duration of the block.
Of course, as is customary in these file-sharing cases, the site owners aren’t sitting back and simply taking it. In an effort to avoid the block they have apparently made some modifications to the way the site operates but they report that the ISPs are still managing to block them. A message on the site reads:
“The file sharing battle has begun. We’ll be left with a world wide web that contains only news.”
The site’s operators are insisting that the site “is perfectly legal”. Indeed, the site - like so many other similar ones - is thought to be operating legally, according to the laws of the country where it is hosted.
The site owners state: “According to legal codes in the Netherlands, sites providing external links allowing surfers to download movie, music, games and program are perfectly legal. Sites cannot store these illicit files on their internet servers, and that is precisely what we do not do. The site merely provides links to file sharing sites such as http and BitTorrent.”
It is thought that not only is the site operated outside Israel, but the owners aren’t living in Israel either, which adds further weight to the argument that the site operates legally. “The website operates from the Netherlands,” say the owners, “and the fact that is in Hebrew does not make it automatically subject to Israeli law! Israeli law applies only to Israeli residents and to websites operating from Israel itself.”
TorrentFreak contacted Tel Aviv lawyer, Jonathan Klinger, who feels the decision of the court is problematic, he writes: “First of all, it has no legal grounds (the decision itself was given like in the Wikileaks case, with the Defendant’s consent). Not the Israeli Copyright Order nor the civil torts act or the Copyright Act acknowledge an Injunction blocking Users from accessing a website in this level, as the users are not a party to the process nor is the ISP a hosting provider. The ISP is simply granting access to a website which only provides links for users to use in file sharing programs. The Users themselves chose to infringe copyright. (and until today no court decision was given claiming links to files stored elsewhere deem as liability for copyright infringement).”
But of course, the IFPI (like the MPAA) doesn’t really care for such detail, with their ‘Director of the Enforcement Unit’, Moti Amitai simply stating: “The IFPI has taken action against sites which operate from Israel and whose proprietors are Israeli.”
Perhaps signaling a widening of this blocking strategy Amitai said: “We want to utilize this verdict as a precedent and go after international sites as well. We are now looking into the logistics and the legal issues involved.”
In the meantime, HttpShare is operating perfectly well (worldwide) for everyone not using the three main Israeli ISPs, either using its domain name or its IP-address.
Previously: Study: Piracy is Caused by Poor Choice
Next: Dutch University Uses BitTorrent to Update Workstations
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The correct action would now be to launch a suit based on “loss of advertising revenue”, the IFPI can be sued anywhere favourable and will lose the case as its not possible for them to claim this site is doing anything illegal by merely showing a weblink as outside of Germany and this this single Israeli ruling, linking is not seen as an offence of any sort.
If the IFPI think this activity is illegal then why does one of their cartel member front companies called Imesh think they can deliver false shareaza update links to genuine open src shareaza client users without attracting the same liability ?
The economic-terrorist group IFPI cannot have it both ways.
It might be a great site but I can not read anything. Do they have an english version?
Anyway this is unacceptable to block such a site!
We guys citizen of the world have to band together and bring down parasites such as this IFPI crap!
i’m unable to access httpshare at the moment and i’m in the US… wierd
[quote comment="305292"]It might be a great site but I can not read anything. Do they have an english version?
Anyway this is unacceptable to block such a site!
We guys citizen of the world have to band together and bring down parasites such as this IFPI crap![/quote]
From what I see the site is used by yang children that can’t see movies in English and need Hebrew dubbed version, mostly.
Maybe the Israelis behind Megaphone Desktop Tool could take on this online-rights issue?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaphone_desktop_tool
It’s a mighty big ASSUMPTION by the IFPI, BRIEN, RIAA, MPAA (and every other similar parasitic association) that every bittorrent client is used to download ‘illegal content’ every time it’s used. I’ve downloaded plenty of material that is LEGAL. Many people I know download legal material. Converting VHS movies to DVD is a pain in the ass, but I could do it legally since I already own copies. I choose to download DVD rips and burn that to a DVD, with NO FINANCIAL LOSS TO ANYONE. I’m merely choosing to convert my movies to a format that suits me better than the format I purchased. If the technology to convert the old VHS movies was unavailable, I certainly would not purchase the DVD. So there is zero financial loss, yet the parasites consider me to be scum of the earth. If I’m scum, then the aforementioned parasitic associations must be scum shit.
I will not grieve at the eventual demise of the scum shit.
[quote comment="305178"]who gives a fu.ck about some big-nose file share site?
fu.cking jews ![/quote]
why would you turn this into an antisemetic attack? fucking redneck….hahahahahaha!
Blocking a site only brings more
attention to it.
IFPI, meet Streisand Effect.
antisemetic attack ?
What’s a semetic ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbz-4aEy66E
Jews blocking piracy? No way!
Cool, the illegal state of Israel does more… illegal things.
Joozians at work.
What the problem you have with Jews and Israel ? you know, some of us acutely trying to stop our government and army from killing people, every time you post stuff like “Aho thos Jews” you are not helping but making it worse.
I must admit, I’m totally amazed at the vast amount of money the music industry has thrown down the toilet over the last ten years. e.g.:-
DRM
Rootkits
MediaSentry, MediaDefender etc.
Armies of lawyers and endless litigation
Press releases
Bribing politicians
Bribing Visa and Mastercard
If they are so desperate to throw money away, why not do it on a useful hopeless cause, such as trying to stop the spammers, or building a faster-than-light star ship.
They would be far more likely to succeed and it would work wonders for their image.
Yep, that’s another big win for the IFPI.
…*snicker*…
Who wants to bet that much like the Danish courts “blocking” The Pirate Bay, HttpShare is now experiencing a record number of hits from Isreali websurfers?
[quote comment="305383"][quote comment="305178"]who gives a fu.ck about some big-nose file share site?
fu.cking jews ![/quote]
why would you turn this into an antisemetic attack? fucking redneck….hahahahahaha![/quote]
i’m born in israel and lived there for 22 years. jews are one fu.cked up ppl. Satan worshipers
Quote: “The Haifa District Court in Israel has ordered that the country’s three largest ISPs should block access”. I bet the fourth largest Israeli ISP is enjoying this.
It’s all so ridiculous that these lawsuits just attack certain websites, just giving rise to more of them. If The Pirate Bay was taken down, something else would take its place, just as TPB took over from Demonoid.
If the IFPI really wants illegal filesharing to be stopped, they should get the laws changed so it is illegal for sites to link to downloads of copyright content or host a tracker for illegal files. I foresee a day in which the IFPI will indeed press for such a law to be implemented globally. When they do so, we will really have something to worry about.
[quote comment="306262"]
If the IFPI really wants illegal filesharing to be stopped, they should get the laws changed so it is illegal for sites to link to downloads of copyright content or host a tracker for illegal files. I foresee a day in which the IFPI will indeed press for such a law to be implemented globally.[/quote]
Let the IFPI press all they want. If you think such a law would ever have a snowball’s chance in Hell of being implemented, much less being effective, then I forsee that you’re high on God damn crack.
There will always be sites with torrents and links, unless they want to shut down the whole Internet, which they have the rabidity for. There will always be search engines also.
So forcing the closure of online music would FORCE people to start buying? I don’t think so, and you can take that to the bank.
Even if we had no Internet, and I think the govts would step in before things got THAT crazy, people would be trading in second-hand CDs and MP3s. Fair use and sanity would prevail.
Then there’s blogs, private and public sites, file storers popping up everywhere. Divide and conquer huh? You’re just scattering the seeds, and growth is exploding. Search engines and software will find them. As your busily trying to stunt the growth, others are springing up in their place if need be, like seeds on the wind.
Btw boys, whilst you’re trying to catch the wind, I hope you’re enjoying your recession. Things just ain’t gonna get any better for you. Too bad really. Those with the most have the most to lose. Hahaaaa!!!!
Maybe someone should look into the Israeli 012.net.il addresses hitting torrents recently. What are they upto over there? Have the Media companies found new friends in high places?
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