TorrentFreak Email Update

Singapore Passes Pirate Bay-Blocking Anti-Piracy Law
Uptobox Bans Americans After Visa and MasterCard Pressure
Kim Dotcom Extradition Hearing Delayed Until 2015

Singapore Passes Pirate Bay-Blocking Anti-Piracy Law

Posted: 08 Jul 2014 02:26 AM PDT

The battle to stop Internet users from downloading copyrighted material is one that can never be won, but that hasn’t stopped a growing list of countries from having a go.

Domain blocking is now one of the preferred methods of reducing copyright infringement around Europe and is endorsed by none other than MPAA chief Chris Dodd.

Today, Singapore can be added to the list of site-blocking countries after passing freshing amendments to its Copyright Act. The news, unpopular with many Internet users, caused the term ‘piracy’ to trend on Twitter.

The Bill was put before Parliament yesterday but was pushed over to today after time ran out. The newly-passed legislation will allow copyright holders to obtain High Court orders to force local service providers to block access to websites that “flagrantly infringe” copyright. How that will be determined is not yet clear.

The new tool will be a useful one for music and movie companies. Previously content was taken down or blocked by ISPs on a case-by-case basis but now wholesale site blocking will become the favored weapon. Local media suggests that the new mechanism could allow sites to be blocked within eight weeks of a successful application.

In a statement, Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah said the new amendments will help reduce piracy and boost legal alternatives.

“The prevalence of online piracy in Singapore turns customers away from legitimate content and adversely affects Singapore’s creative sector,” Rajah said.

“It can also undermine our reputation as a society that respects the protection of intellectual property.”

Unsurprisingly The Pirate Bay is first on the list of sites set to be targeted by copyright holders, with KickassTorrents reportedly a close second. The law could come into force by the end of August so it’s possible that both sites – and most probably more – will be blocked before the end of the year.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Uptobox Bans Americans After Visa and MasterCard Pressure

Posted: 07 Jul 2014 09:58 AM PDT

After failed attempts to introduce tougher anti-piracy legislation in the United States, Hollywood and the major record labels focused their efforts on strangling revenue of so-called rogue sites.

Payment services are among the key intermediaries and the entertainment industries previously helped negotiate an anti-piracy agreement between VISA, MasterCard, PayPal, PaySafeCard and several other key players.

As a result several major file-hosting services have had trouble accepting payments from their users. The popular cyberlocker Uptobox is among the latest casualties of this effort, TorrentFreak has learned.

“Our payment processors have received a notification from Visa and MasterCard telling them to stop accepting credit card payments for our service, subject to penalties,” Uptobox operator Guillaume informs us.

“These measures are the result of pressure from movie studios on Visa and Mastercard,” he adds.

Uptobox is currently still able to accept credit card payments through a reseller, but decided to cut all ties with the United States to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

This means that U.S. visitors are no longer allowed to access the site. Instead they receive the following notice. “Sorry, Uptobox.com is not available in your country.”

Uptobox block

Uptobox will consider lifting the ban if a European payment provider is willing to directly accept credit card payments for them. However, considering Visa and MasterCard’s tight grip on the situation this may prove to be difficult.

According to Guillaume, MasterCard previously complained to payment processors Hipay and Allopass as well, following a request from Disney. In addition, PayPal has rejected Uptobox’s requests to become an authorized file-hosting service.

According to statistics released last year more than 1,500 “pirate” merchants were cut off from payment providers between 2011 and 2013, and this list continues to expand week after week.

Despite the setbacks Uptobox is determined to keep its business going. The cyberlocker is currently exploring several alternative payment methods including Bitcoin.

“Processing payments for our users is hard right now, but we are sure we will find a suitable payment processor. We’re also considering to support Bitcoin and other payment methods such as SMS,” Guillaume tells us.

“For now, the service is not in danger, we still have a bright future ahead of us,” the Uptobox operator concludes.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Kim Dotcom Extradition Hearing Delayed Until 2015

Posted: 07 Jul 2014 05:45 AM PDT

The United States Government is keen to get its hands on Kim Dotcom. He stands accused of committing the biggest copyright-related crime ever seen through his now-defunct cloud storage site Megaupload.

But their access to the entrepreneur will have to wait.

According to Dotcom, his extradition hearing has now been delayed until February 16, 2015.

Delays and postponements have become recurring features of the criminal case being built against Dotcom in the United States.

A March 2013 date came and went without a promised hearing, as did another in November the same year, a delay which Dotcom said would “save Prime Minister John Key embarrassment during an election campaign.”

Another hearing date for April 2014 also failed to materialize and now the date penciled in for the coming weeks has also been struck down.

Dotcom also reports that he still hasn’t received a copy of the data that was unlawfully sent to the FBI by New Zealand authorities.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.