TorrentFreak

After a long battle with the international arm of the MPAA, Usenet indexing site Newzbin2 has called it quits. The site had been operating under adverse conditions, not least almost total censorship by a court-ordered ISP blockade in the UK. Add to this a climate of fear driving individuals providing vital services away from the site, plus legal action against PayPal aimed at Newzbin2′s UK-based payment provider, and the site’s operators have decided to shut down.

The parties were back in the High Court Friday in the continuing case of the MPA against UK ISP BT. The latter was previously ordered to block subscriber access to Usenet indexing site Newzbin2 on copyright infringement grounds, but yesterday an objection by a Newzbin2 and BT user was added into the mix. Question is, what effect will it have?

Today, UK ISP BT and representatives from the MPA will appear at the High Court to thrash out the final stage of the ground-breaking web-blocking case against Newzbin2. But in a surprise last-minute move, a David and Goliath battle seems to be on the cards. A Newzbin2 user has stepped up to defend his site by intervening in the blocking process, and is reportedly already being bullied by his Hollywood opponents with threats of bankruptcy.

In July, Justice Arnold in London’s High Court ordered leading UK ISP BT to block subscriber access to Usenet indexing site Newzbin2. Under the banner of the MPA, the leading Hollywood studios successfully argued that by letting the site continue uncensored their business in the UK would be severely damaged. As previously noted, Newzbin2 weren’t [...]

Following a hearing in London’s High Court, leading UK ISP BT will be forced to block subscriber access to Usenet indexing site Newzbin2. Under the banner of the MPA, the leading Hollywood studios successfully argued that by letting the site continue unabated their interests would be severely damaged. The decision, the first of its kind in the UK, increases the pressure on other ISPs.

Last year Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association (MPA) went to court seeking an injunction against UK ISP BT in order to force them to block Newzbin2, the resurrected version of the original Newzbin Usenet indexer. This week the MPA are back at the High Court again as they attempt to force BT to use their child abuse filter to block Newzbin2.

Usenet indexer Newzbin has endured its fair share of ups and downs over the last few years, mainly as a result of its intense legal battle with the major Hollywood studios. Remarkably the site morphed and fought back and now finds itself in the unusual situation of never being asked to remove links to infringing content. Calm before the storm? If so, Newzbin are prepared.