The cat and mouse game between the law and file sharing sites is an on-going one for sure; you can never tell at any given time who’s winning. But if the latest round of fighting is anything to go by, I’d say the law has the upper hand. 
Reports are that a UK court has ordered British Telecom (BT) to use its “Clean feed” censorship technology to bloc user access to NewzBin, a popular file sharing website. Clean feed is the technology that ISPs use to block access to child pornography websites.
So what’s different about this ruling? And given how other file sharing sites have skirted round the law before, how can it make a difference? Well, the answer is not much, if you ask the people who run sites like NewzBin; as we’ve seen time and time again, shifting servers, and using proxies can do wonders.
But if you ask lawmakers, they’ll tell this ruling will do a world of good. Their confidence is based on the fact that most users will not want to jeopardize their internet connection for the sake of a few files. And with robust prosecution (singling out if you will), the message can be sent far and wide that file sharing of copyrighted material, will not be tolerated.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of this latest ruling will be on file sharing in general. UK law is not always harmonious with other jurisdictions, but if they can get some of the other big-name countries and ISPs on board, file sharing may suffer.
Do you think such a ruling is helpful? Watch the video below to learn more about file sharing and copyright infringements.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txww9TqpRzg
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