| For those that are interested, the blocks were ordered in early December by Australia's Federal Court. The court was given the powers when the Australian Copyright Act was amended in 2015. The case was heard over several days, and while it was inevitable that it would order the sites blocked (there was no opposition to the blocking application, as such) - the copyright holders didn't get everything they wanted. They wanted an injunction that they could effectively add to or amend over time (such as when mirror sites pop up), but the Federal Court didn't go that far. The blocking orders require a certain level of oversight. It seems that new domains will require either a new case, or another affidavit to be filed. We're yet to see what the process will be. Also there's a multi year timer on the domains that are blocked. Rights holders will need to file an application to keep the blocks in place. Many people have discovered the blocks aren't really that effective. It seems for many ISPs a simple DNS change will get around it. The court didn't order a specific technical means to achieve the blocks, leaving it up to ISPs to choose. They've obviously chosen methods which aren't all that effective. |
I think the case was a good balance between upholding the law and making it clear that it wouldn't be a system over which the copyright holders have total control.