Online TV/Music
01 May 2017
Spyware that can identify what films you are watching The Economist
Remember that racy film you probably should not have enjoyed on Netflix last weekend? Eran Tromer’s algorithms can tell what it was. Although videos streamed from services such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube are encrypted in various ways to ensure privacy, all have one thing in common: they leak information. Dr Tromer, of Tel Aviv university, his colleague Roei Schuster and Vitaly Shmatikov of Cornell have worked out how those leaks can identify the film you are watching—even if they cannot directly observe the stream of bits delivering it, or obtain access to the device on which you are watching it.
28 April 2017
Record labels in Australia win fight to block music piracy websites Australian Financial Review
Record labels have won against internet service providers to have piracy website KickassTorrent blocked but will have to pay $50 per name to have the website's domain names blocked.
25 April 2017
Five Million Brits Go Crazy For Illegal Streaming TorrentFreak
Almost five million Brits are regularly streaming TV content from illegal Internet services. That's one of the findings from a new YouGov study which shows that Kodi-powered devices and Android apps are particularly popular with users. Of concern to authorized services is that hundreds of thousands of pirates say they're canceling their official subscriptions.
13 April 2017
Most US Millennials Regularly Stream Pirated Content, Survey Finds TorrentFreak
More than half of all North American millennials regularly use pirate streaming services to watch TV-shows or movies, a new survey shows. While legal streaming is preferred, pirate sources are more popular than traditional TV, DVDs or Blu-Rays. Interestingly, only a tiny fraction of the respondents feel guilty about using these unauthorized platforms.
21 February 2017
The Pirate Bay Must Be Blocked in Sweden, Court of Appeal Rules TorrentFreak
A Court of Appeal has ordered The Pirate Bay and streaming portal Swefilmer to be blocked by an ISP in Sweden. The landmark ruling, in favor of Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, and the Swedish film industry, will see local ISP Bredbandsbolaget forced to block the sites for the next three years.
Google and Bing to deprecate piracy websites The Guardian
Internet users will find it harder to search for pirated films and music and illegally streamed live football matches under a new plan to crackdown on piracy websites.
09 February 2017
EU moves closer to removing barriers for online media subscriptions Reuters
European Union institutions moved a step closer on Tuesday to letting consumers access their online subscriptions for services like Netflix or Sky when they travel across the bloc.
Blocking The Pirate Bay is Allowed Under EU Law, AG Concludes TorrentFreak
Internet providers in Europe can be ordered to block access to The Pirate Bay, even though the site itself doesn't store any infringing material. This is the advice Advocate General Szpunar has sent to the EU Court of Justice in what may turn out to be a landmark case.
02 February 2017
US halts internet 'six strikes' anti-piracy scheme BBC News
A controversial programme that could have seen persistent content-pirates have their internet access cut off, has been stopped in the US.
12 January 2017
UK's net providers to begin sending 'pirate' emails BBC News
UK ISPs are to start sending "educational letters" to customers identified as downloading copyright material without paying for it.
02 January 2017
Google Removed Over 900 Million ‘Pirate’ Links in 2016 TorrentFreak
Google removed over 900 million pirate site URLs from its search results in 2016. The staggering number is an increase of nearly 100% compared to the year before. While Google has taken some steps to make pirate sites less visible, it continues to disagree with rightsholders on how to move forward.
23 December 2016
US Government Targets Pirate Bay and Other 'Piracy Havens' TorrentFreak
The US Government has listed some of the largest piracy websites and other copyright-infringing venues. The USTR calls on foreign countries to take action against popular piracy sites such as The Pirate Bay, which has important "symbolic value," according to the authorities. In addition, stream-ripping is mentioned as an emerging threat.
22 December 2016
This is the real threat to online pirates, and the digital privacy of Australians News.com.au
Your digital privacy is being incrementally eroded at an alarming rate, Australian privacy advocates warn.
21 December 2016
First Aussie Pirate Bay Block Gets Defeated in Seconds TorrentFreak
Telstra has become the very first Australian ISP to block The Pirate Bay, a move designed to crack down on piracy in the country. However, the blocking method chosen by the ISP is the most basic option permitted under the Federal Court's order. As a result, it's been defeated in seconds.
19 December 2016
The Future of Aussie Pirate Site Blocking: Six Additional Facts TorrentFreak
This week pirate site blocking arrived in Australia after years of planning and negotiations. We take a look at some of the lesser-discussed points from the Federal Court's ruling which allow for the rapid expansion of site blocking based on the trusted words of rightsholders.
16 December 2016
US Music Industry Urges Trump to Strengthen Intellectual Property Laws Rolling Stone
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Songwriters Guild of America were among the organizations asking Trump to work with them on behalf of "American music - one of our nation's most valuable forms of art and intellectual property, and a powerful driver of high-quality U.S. jobs and exports."
15 December 2016
Internet companies forced to block The Pirate Bay, bittorrent websites in Australia, Federal Court rules ABC News
The Federal Court has ordered internet companies to block five copyright-infringing websites, including torrent website The Pirate Bay.
Pirate Bay and other file-sharing websites' fate set to be decided in Australia's Federal Court ABC News
If all goes according to plan, the Federal Court will today decide if it will order internet companies to block copyright-infringing websites like The Pirate Bay.
12 December 2016
Swedish ISPs: Blocking The Pirate Bay is Dangerous Censorship TorrentFreak
Two major Swedish ISPs are warning that a possible court-ordered Pirate Bay blockade will introduce a dangerous and unwarranted form of censorship. Instead, they encourage copyright holders to collaborate with them to find better solutions to the piracy problem.
07 December 2016
Net earnings: top YouTubers' income rises 23% in past year The Guardian
Their talents range from comedy to gaming and from singing to playing pranks, often captured with nothing more than a handheld camera. But YouTubers are at the vanguard of an industry worth tens of millions of pounds.
Pirate Bay Blocking Case Heads Back to Court in Sweden TorrentFreak
In 2015, a coalition of copyright holders lost a court case which demanded an ISP blockade of The Pirate Bay in Sweden. A year later and Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music and Nordisk Film are back, hoping for a victory in a brand new court that could open the floodgates for widespread website blocking.
04 December 2016
Mandatory Piracy Filters May Violate EU Law, Scholars Warn TorrentFreak
A group of prominent legal scholars has warned that the EU Commission's plans to modernize copyright law in Europe appear to be incompatible with EU law. One of the main problems is the mandatory piracy filter Internet services are required to use, which largely ignore existing case law and human rights.
02 December 2016
Free TV-Show Streaming Hurts Online Sales, Research Finds TorrentFreak
New research from Carnegie Mellon University shows that online piracy is not the only worry for TV distributors. Based on Downton Abbey streaming and sales data provided by PBS, the researchers find that free legal streams can significantly reduce download sales. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that free streaming options should be banned.
Spain Announces New Campaign to Fight Internet Piracy TorrentFreak
Spain's Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport has announced a new initiative for tackling piracy, especially online. Minister Íñigo Méndez de Vigo said a special prosecutor's office will be developed alongside enhanced technological and human resources. An educational campaign targeting children is also on the agenda.
22 November 2016
Surprise! Aussie Internet Pirates Are The Best Customers TorrentFreak
A report commissioned by the Australian government has found a drop in piracy rates for 2016. The fall is being attributed to improved availability of legal streaming alternatives, but in a juicy twist, the report also reveals that the much reviled Aussie pirate is often the industry's best customer.
