New legislation to be put forward to block torrenting websites, but will it work?

NEW piracy laws are set to be put to parliament to block torrent sites in Australia. But when you look overseas, you see why the plan won’t work.

A BILL is set to be introduced to the Senate next week that could be the nail in the coffin for online piracy but its detractors say it curbs internet freedom.

The Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill is a part of the government’s ongoing crackdown on copyright breaches in Australia and comes in the wake of a proposed three strikes scheme that could see illegal downloaders face harsh financial penalties.

The bill will force ISPs to block overseas sites that allow people to share copyrighted material, at the request of a judge

A spokesman for Senator Brandis’ office said the bill will be presented to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for review next week.

If the bill is to eventually pass, the expected outcome would see content rights holders moving to lodge court orders to have all known piracy sites blocked in Australia.

Rights holders can take direct action against Australian based websites, so the legislation could effectively see a blanket removal of torrent sharing sites across Australian internet providers.

The text of the bill has not yet been released and even ISPs have been kept in the dark.

John Stanton, CEO of the Communications Alliance, who worked on behalf of major ISPs to develop the three strikes program said he is “disappointed” that his group hadn’t been consulted.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Attorney General Senator George Brandis have been leading the charge on the piracy crackdown.

The site-blocking scheme has been likened to online censorship by critics including consumer advocate group Choice and Pirate Party Australia, who argue that it will set a dangerous precedent.

Pirate Party Deputy President Simon Frew said the legislation “will mean we are subjected to a censorship regimen. The Government has opted for a long and pointless game of whack-a-mole — as soon as a site is blocked it will pop up in several new places and copyright infringement will continue.”

So will it actually work?

The same type of system has been in the UK since 2011 with little success. Some of the most popular torrenting sites in the world, including The Pirate Bay and Kick Ass Torrents have all been blocked, but locals keep finding a way to download content.

Typically, within hours of a site being put on the block list by an internet provider, hundreds of mirror sites that offer the same content pop up for users to access. Then of course, by the time those are blocked or taken down, there are just more to replace them. It’s a never ending circle.

Other methods UK locals have been using to get around the block include using proxy websites, which stop the ISPs from thinking you’re actually visiting those websites.

As a result, these proxy sites have also been blocked.

The Pirate Bay has ways around ISP blocks.

However, The Pirate Bay, the world’s biggest torrenting site now uses a new service to host the site which stops most ISPs from being able to block it. The new service effectively hides the information about The Pirate Bay from internet providers, making it harder for them to block access to their main site.

James Brandes from ORGZine, a UK digital rights magazine, says: “Not only is the block policy fundamentally failing, but it raises important censorship.”

With the proposed metadata laws due to be passed by the end of this month, new piracy laws could be the nail in the coffin for Australia’s freedom on the internet.