Copyright holders are increasingly demanding that ISPs should block access to pirate sites in order to protect their business.
As the bastion of online piracy, The Pirate Bay has become one of the main targets. The site has been blocked in roughly two-dozen countries already, mostly in Europe.
Earlier this week we reported that Romania had joined in on the action, following a court order, and only a few days later Greek Internet providers are now ordered to block the notorious torrent site as well.
The blocking request was filed this spring by the Society for the Protection of Audiovisual Works (EPOE), a local anti-piracy group which represents the interests of major Greek copyright holders.
The group filed an application with the IPPC, a special commission that falls under the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports, which decided that ISPs must block a total of 38 domain names.
The targeted sites include The Pirate Bay, 1337x, YTS, as well as several popular local sites, such as Xrysoi, Gamatotv, and Tainiomania. With Subztv.club, Subtitles.gr, and others, subtitle sites are thrown into the mix as well.
According to the Government-affiliated commission, it is apparent that all the targeted sites are involved in large-scale copyright infringement.
The commission has set a tight deadline of 48 hours for ISPs to comply with the order. Those who fail to do so face a fine of 850 euros per day, Lawspot reports.
The order stands for three years and it specifically states that offenses committed by users are not covered.
It’s worth noting that this wasn’t the first attempt to block The Pirate Bay and other pirate sites in Greece. AEPI previously launched a civil court case, but at the time the court ruled that pirate site blocks were disproportionate and unconstitutional.
It’s questionable whether this would hold up today, though, as the EU Court of Justice ruled otherwise last year.
Whether the current blockades will help to deter piracy in a meaningful way has yet to be seen. As usual, there are several options to bypass ISP blockades, and the targeted sites themselves often offer alternative domains.
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The full list of domain names is posted below and a copy of the order can be found here.
1. https://xrysoi.online
2. xrysoi.se
3. xrysoi.eu
4. http://gamatotv.me
5. thegmtv.org,
6. gamatotv.to
7. https: //onlinemoviestar.xyz
8. onlinemoviestar.com
9. tainies.online
10. tenies.online
11. https://tenies-online.com
12. teniesonline.ucoz.com
13. https: // oipeirates .online
14. oipeirates.eu
15. oipeirates.se
16. http://tainio-mania.com
17. tainiomania.ucoz.com
18. https: // liomen oi.com
19. moviecinema.gr
20. moviecinematv.online
21. http://tainiesonline.tv
22. https://magico.info
23. http://www.subs4free.com
24. small-industry.com
25. rnedium-industry.com
26. https://subztv.club
27. http: // www .greeksubtitles.info
28. htt : // www.subtitles.gr
29. https://thepiratebay.org
30. thepiratebay.se
31. thepiratebay.me
32. thepiratebay3.org
33. https://yts.am
34. https: //www.1337x.to
35. 1337x.st
36. 1337x.ws
37. 1337x.eu
38. 1337x.se
