Sky blocks Newzbin, important legal and technical questions need answering

[Wendy M. Grossman]

On 12/15/2011 12:27 PM, James Firth wrote:
> Roland Perry wrote:
> 
>> Current Newzbin.com as viewed from here is on a block of addresses in
>> Sweden. 
> <snip>
>> Elsewhere, Newzbin have eight IP addresses (from a /14 block of 256k)
>> via Easynet. Same arguments apply.
> 
> And the sites "whose sole or predominant purpose is to enable or facilitate
> access to the Newzbin[2] website" (para 10, October ruling)? 
> 
> It is these sites I'm really worried about. Newzbin, apparently, have
> developed a client capable of bypassing blocks.  Any site set up e.g. for
> the purpose of distributing this client could find themselves blocked.
> Surely these are far more likely to be pushed out via more transient hosting
> arrangements, and herein lies a very real risk of recycling and
> over-blocking.

I wonder if it would be worth invoking the history of Scienteology vs
the Net here. (Wired, 1995 - alt./scientology.war) The UK could easily
find itself re-enacting the business of Scientology critics posting the
"sikrit documents" at randomly changing IP addresses. Granted, the way
you found the docs was through a mini-search engine at a stable
location, but there are so many more ways now to broadcast the day's -
hour's - IP address (even if you shut down Twitter accounts good luck
shutting down a Twitter hashtag).

Does the UK govt want to look as stupid and be as jeered and mocked as
Scientology did/was?

wg

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