UK Site Blocking Gives Boost to Pirate Linking Sites

[CosaNostra]

    What happens when movie and TV show companies have sites blocked at the ISP level in the UK? A leaked report commission by the studios shows that on the one hand direct traffic to pirate sites seriously reduced. But on the other, usage of unblocked linking-only sites increased by more than 230%.

    unblockerDuring 2014, several key strategies emerged to lead the mainstream entertainment industries’ anti-piracy efforts. At the consumer end, so-called “strikes†programs saw errant Internet subscribers receive warning notices in an effort to correct their behaviors.

    Then, on top of sending millions of DMCA-style takedown notices to sites and search engines, entertainment companies went to court in several regions to have domains blocked at the ISP level. The UK was hit particularly hard and now dozens of sites are inaccessible via regular means.

    But the big question remains – is this an effective way to reduce piracy? Earlier this year the movie studios decided to find out by hiring a company called Incopro to conduct a study. The report has never been made public but TorrentFreak has now obtained a copy.

    The report, titled ‘Site Blocking Efficacy Study United Kingdom’ is dated September 30, 2014 and focuses on the top 250 “open access†websites involved in the unauthorized distribution of film and television content. Dedicated music sites were not included.

    Overall the 26 page report, which relies heavily on Alexa data, found that blocking had resulted in targeted sites losing an average 73.2% of their direct traffic. And, when compared to the global control, usage of pirate sites had declined over time.

    The report breaks sites down into three categories – linking only sites (the majority of sites in the top 250), public P2P portals and hosting.

    Three sites were identified as the most popular among UK users in August 2014 – watchseries.lt (link), putlocker.is (link) and nowvideo.sx (host), with the former maintaining the number one position for the previous six months. And despite being blocked in March 2013 and taking a large hit in direct traffic, KickassTorrents maintained its place in the top 10.

    In all cases, direct traffic to ‘pirate’ sites plummeted when ISPs implemented court-ordered blockades. The chart below shows the effect of a 2013 blocking order against BitSnoop, TorrentReactor, TorrentHound, Torrent Downloads, Monova, Filestube, Filecrop, 1337x, Torrentz, TorrentCrazy and ExtraTorrent.

    http://i.imgur.com/BrH6p2f.jpg

    However, while direct traffic to ‘pirate’ sites diminishes following blocking actions, Incopro found that a particular kind of site in the top 250 actually does better over time.

    So-called “linking only†sites (i.e not a P2P portal or hosting site) enjoy significant boosts, as shown in the chart below.

    http://i.imgur.com/kGMxgI5.jpg

    “Linking Only sites have shown a growth in usage over time, indicating that these sites increase in usage and can take the place of those that are blocked if they are allowed to grow over time,†the company warns.

    “In summary, where there are sustained periods of blocking, usage levels are driven downwards across all site categories. Linking Only sites are the fastest growing category and should be considered as blocking targets over a sustained period to curtail their growth.â€

    Circumvention techniques

    While the Alexa data relied on by Incopro relates to direct traffic to sites, the big unknown is how many people continue to visit blocked sites using circumvention tools such as VPNs and proxy services. In its report, Incopro highlights three different types

    1. Dedicated sites offering access or a mirror of a blocked site
    2. Sites offering access to more than one blocked site (i.e come.in)
    3. VPNs or proxy services offering access to any site

    Immediately there is a problem for anyone looking to measure traffic to sites when the above methods are used. While option 1 is relatively easy to measure, options 2 and 3 present significant technical issues. For these reasons, Incopro measured only option 1. Nevertheless, as the chart below shows, use of dedicated proxies accounts for more than half of blocked “pirate†site traffic.

    http://i.imgur.com/efDvU0w.jpg

    Conclusion

    In summing up, Incopro found that when a website and all of its domains and dedicated proxies are blocked by court order (and updated quickly), “there is a significant impact in reducing infringement by the sites themselves and a reduction in the overall infringement undertaken by the most popular websites in the UK.â€

    But to really get to the heart of the problem requires a much deeper analysis and the answer to a question that sits way outside the scope of the report.

    Does site blocking really put more money into the pockets of the entertainment industries?

    ———————————————————————————

    Top 250 leading “pirate†movie/TV sites (dedicated music sites excluded)

    watchseries.lt
    putlocker.is
    nowvideo.sx
    uploaded.net
    kickass.to
    videoweed.es
    sockshare.com
    firedrive.com
    movshare.net
    alluc.to
    vodlocker.com
    isohunt.to
    thepiratebay.se
    4shared.com
    novamov.com
    rapidgator.net
    torrentz.eu
    gorillavid.in
    free-tv-video-online.me
    cucirca.eu
    rarbg.com
    torlock.com
    warez-bb.org
    mega.co.nz
    yify-torrent.org
    g2g.fm
    watchtvseries.to
    rlslog.net
    zzstream.li
    allmyvideos.net
    thevideo.me
    dfiles.eu
    played.to
    sendspace.com
    letitbit.net
    icefilms.info
    vidbull.com
    daclips.in
    couchtuner.eu
    billionuploads.com
    thefile.me
    watchseries-online.ch
    thedarewall.com
    filenuke.com
    promptfile.com
    primewire.ag
    extratorrent.cc
    stream-tv.me
    cokeandpopcorn.ch
    letmewatchthis.ae
    tv-series.me
    eztv.it
    turbobit.net
    videomega.tv
    vidto.me
    zalukaj.tv
    torrentbutler.eu
    watchserieshd.eu
    filmai.in
    watchtvseries.ch
    watch32.com
    iwatchonline.to
    uploadboy.com
    movreel.com
    ch131.so
    movie4k.to
    movpod.in
    tubeplus.me
    p30download.com
    rapidshare.com
    viooz.co
    avaxsearch.net
    bitshare.com
    sceper.ws
    torrents.to
    nosvideo.com
    sharesix.com
    torrentfunk.com
    expressleech.com
    rapidmoviez.com
    heroturko.me
    vidspot.net
    seedpeer.me
    www2.zmovie.tw
    downloadha.com
    uploadc.com
    torrentbit.net
    180upload.com
    vidbux.com
    tehparadox.com
    bestreams.net
    clicktoview.org
    divxstage.to
    2shared.com
    sharebeast.com
    ffilms.org
    watchmovies.to
    terafile.co
    rlsbb.com
    torrentus.si
    mightyupload.com
    filefactory.com
    vidxden.com
    freakshare.com
    losmovies.com
    flashx.tv
    youtubeonfire.com
    uppit.com
    desitorrents.com
    movie25.cm
    Filmix.net
    torrents.net
    uploadable.ch
    watchseries7.eu
    fsplay.net
    sharerepo.com
    watch-tvseries.net
    watchonlineseries.eu
    videobull.to
    tusfiles.net
    seriespepito.com
    seventorrents.re
    zalaa.com
    wareztuga.tv
    uploadbaz.com
    filepost.com
    afdah.com
    990.ro
    tv-release.net
    vidshark.ws
    kinogo.net
    torrenthound.com
    moovyshoovy.com
    vodu.ch
    rutor.org
    peliculaspepito.com
    boerse.bz
    lostfilm.tv
    allyoulike.com
    kinox.to
    bigcinema.tv
    kino-v-online.tv
    kinozal.tv
    rodfile.com
    putlockertvshows.me
    watchfreemovies.ch
    filehoot.com
    nowdownload.ch
    solarmovie.ag
    2baksa.net
    filecore.co.nz
    shaanig.com
    luckyshare.net
    d-addicts.com
    sumotorrent.sx
    1337x.to
    exsite.pl
    yourbittorrent.com
    awesomedl.ru
    thetorrent.org
    filecloud.io
    kinoman.tv
    cloudyvideos.com
    vidics.ch
    300mbfilms.co
    zone-telechargement.com
    cuevana2.tv
    video.tt
    uptobox.com
    linksfu.com
    depfile.com
    h33t.to
    megafilmeshd.net
    onfillm.ru
    vitorrent.org
    movzap.com
    dpstream.net
    videobam.com
    greek-movies.com
    softarchive.net
    filmifullizle.com
    torrentroom.com
    v1vn.com
    1fichier.com
    youwatch.org
    tnttorrent.info
    apnadesiforums.com
    divxplanet.com
    movie8k.to
    1channelmovie.com
    watchonlinefree.tv
    online.stepashka.com
    fileom.com
    tormovies.org
    movierulz.com
    oneclickwatch.org
    stream.cz
    torrent.cd
    mobi-live.ru
    myvideolinks.eu
    rajtamil.com
    netload.in
    dubbedepisodes.org
    monova.org
    torrentreactor.net
    channelcut.tv
    rslinks.org
    torrenty.org
    fileserve.com
    keep2s.cc
    divxstream.net
    zi-m.com
    torrentz.to
    kingfiles.net
    uloz.to
    tvshow7.eu
    megashares.com
    darkwarez.pl
    vodly.to
    scrapetorrent.com
    ryushare.com
    cinemaxx.ro
    watchmoviespro.pw
    hdvnbits.org
    torrents.fm
    datafile.com
    secureupload.eu
    phim3s.net
    vidhog.com
    peb.pl
    solarmovie.me
    share-online.biz
    watchopolis.net
    mega-search.me
    fileswap.com
    chameleons-download.com
    zmovie.in
    vertor.eu
    kinoprosmotr.net
    rusfolder.com
    divxcentral.com
    popcorntime.io
    ourrelease.org
    keep2share.cc
    uploadrocket.net
    motionempire.me
    crocko.com
    filenuke.net
    fulldls.com
    filestube.to