The six largest UK Internet service providers – Sky Broadband, BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and EE – were given ten days from February 8th to block all traffic with Mixdrop, an infringing cyberlocker site.
The plaintiffs include Sky, and a group of major movie studios belonging to the Motion Picture Association (Columba Pictures, Disney Enterprises, Netflix Studios, Paramount Pictures, Universal City Studios, Warner Bros.)
Read further reporting by Express Newspapers (UK)
Read further reporting from ISPreview (UK)
Why it matters
While the shutdown of TV and movie piracy sites and subsequent prosecution of the offenders behind them have become relatively common in the UK, the above-referenced report by ISPreview said that pursuit of cyberlocker sites has been infrequent.
A Motion Pictures Association EMEA spokesperson said “Site blocking continues to be an effective way of halting the spread of online piracy. Piracy affects everyone involved in the creative process – from the filmmakers to the makeup artists. It also adversely affects consumers, exposing them to malware, identity theft and fraud.”
