Belgian ISPs Ordered To Block The Pirate Bay | Hacker News Reader

Belgian ISPs Ordered To Block The Pirate Bay

torrentfreak.com

32 pointssasvari12 comments

echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" >> /etc/resolv.conf

problem?

Yeah, windows doesn't have a resolv.conf. And on OSX that file is only there for unix applications and it's overwritten when you change networks. Native Mac apps don't use resolv.conf, they use the system apis.

https://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using.html

Stop me if for some technical reason what I'm asking here is increadibly stupid... but isn't it relatively cheap to substitute HTTP-based URL redirection for DNS in a case like this? Like so: http://hops.me/7nq -> 127.0.0.1

Is there a list anywhere exactly which domains are blocked? Are some bit-torrent trackers part of it? That could be annoying.

So it's a DNS block? That will be incredibly easy for Belgians to bypass...

How many non-nerds do you know that even know what DNS is? Yes, slowly people will learn 'just type in the numbers xyz into your address bar', but it'll be a rather big obstacle for most casual users.

On top of that, if it turns out that a DNS block is insufficient to stop the majority of Belgian users to access The Pirate Bay, it's a small step to go back to the judge and ask for a more stringent block.

This is a first step, but a major one - it will set a precedent not only for Belgium and similar sites with pirated content, but also for other European countries. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out, and if there will be a counter-movement of sufficient weight to instigate legislation that will overturn broad, sweeping blocks of content. I suspect not.

Apparently Danish traffic to the TPB has actually increased 12% since the block ;)

In any case, TPB is just one of many nowadays. Block one and three more will pop up, like always.

Good old Streisand effect.

Any minute they'll all be goose stepping.

Welcome to the Internet in 2020, where content is approved before it is allowed on the tube. What is left of the idea of freedom through a networked world which once inspired the creation of the great tubes is now a shell for business, government and corporate interests. You shall not pass is the new greeting many will recognize. Your communication is surveiled, filtered and censored. For your own good.

Your comment incidentally reminds me of the term "boob tube" (slang for television, for those who may not have encountered the term). I suddenly wonder whether that's what we're heading for, with the Internet. Throttle it until it become the latest form of "boob tube".

[The term boob can describe a rube or idiot, not just a female mammary, so the term is a double entendre.]

Ultimately, we ("the people") need unfettered control of at least one physical medium supporting the Internet. Route around the damage.

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