Movie studio Reliance Entertainment has somehow convinced courts in India to block entire domains -- simply to try and stop the trading of a single movie. According to Torrent Freak, not only have ISPs been ordered by the courts to block BitTorrent websites like BtJunkie, but they've also been ordered to block legitimate storage locker services like MegaUpload. Unsurprisingly, first in line to enthusiastically block entire domains is Reliance sister company Reliance Communications. MegaUpload insists that this will be a great opportunity to test anti-blocking technologies:
Commenting on the censorship, Megaupload s Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak that the effects of these blocks are usually resolved in a week, but while they stand they give the company a chance to do some analysis. "For us the India block is a great opportunity to see how users respond. In India we have one of the highest installation rates of our Megakey application. It gives users direct access to our servers. The Megakey instantly cures any kind of ISP or DNS blockade and always finds the fastest route to our servers, Kim adds.
In other words, those who want to get the copyrighted file will simply find a workaround, while less tech savvy users will be greeted with a broken Internet. The effort illustrates concerns many have with SOPA here in the States, in that filtering entire domains to try and stop piracy simply erodes free speech rights while breaking core Internet functionality -- all to protect the revenues of companies that failed repeatedly to adapt their business models to the modern age.read comment(s)