Canadian Media Companies and ISPs Apparently Developing Plan for Blockin Pirate Sites

[Len]

Piracy is an issue many want to address, which is why there are many laws and methods in many countries to stop it and prosecute those guilty of it. Documents obtained by Canadaland indicate some Canadian companies, both media companies and ISPs, are developing a proposal to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to develop a blacklist of pirate sites the ISPs must then block. This blacklist would be maintained by a non-profit organization called Internet Piracy Review Agency, which would be formed as a result of this plan, and enforcement would come from the CTRC. If you notice something missing there, that is because the judicial system is not involved in this process, at least not until after a site has already been blocked. Blocking pirate sites is not a new tactic to counter piracy, but it has involved the judicial process previously, and at least this draft does not appear to involve that kind of oversight.

While there might be a number of companies willing to sign on in support of this plan, there are reasons to believe the CRTC and Canadian government would not be willing to enact and enforce it. Only time will tell where this will go, but it seems unlikely it will be this draft that would be adopted, if proposed in its current form.