Multi Screen Media (MSM), the company that runs sports channel Sony Six and holds the exclusive media rights for the FIFA World Cup in the Indian sub-continent, has secured a court order to block content over 200 websites relating to the ongoing World Cup Football matches.
MSM has sole rights for the event and the order has directed Internet Service Providers (ISP) to block hundreds of webpages hosting videos and clips related to the FIFA 2014 World Cup. An official with an ISP confirmed the development and said the order contains list of over 200 websites, content on which have to be blocked. While access to most of the content on open sites can be easily restricted, the official said ISPs are finding it tough to block content on "private, password protected websites," since it is difficult to locate where the illegal content is hosted. Such orders are implemented through the department of telecom (DoT). The current order, which was first issued in the last week of June by the Delhi High Court and modified last week, includes popular torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay among others.
In such cases, ISPs do not block the entire website but only the webpage where illegal or pirated content is located. This is not the first time when such a blanket ban order has been secured. In the past, several film production firms such as Reliance Entertainment Private Limited have asked courts for such orders against video file sharing websites before the release of big-ticket movies like Singham, Bodyguard and Don-2 among others. In fact, the frequency of such orders led to a consortium of almost 40 ISPs to appeal in the Madras High Court on the grounds that it was resulting in the blocking of legitimate content. MSM did not comment on the development.
