U.K. Mobile Broadband Operators Block TPB

Citing a new (?), voluntary Code of Practice, mobile broadband providers in the U.K. are blocking access to The Pirate Bay.

But the Code of Practice has been around since 2004 (according to the date on the PDF file), so why start blocking now? Answer: the verdict against The Pirate Bay from last Friday, obviously.

Why block period? It seems related to the large (ahem) amount of porn available via torrents hosted on the site. Using BT as an example, users see the following when trying to surf to The Pirate Bay:

"This uses a barring and filtering mechanism to restrict access to all WAP and internet sites that are considered to have 'over 18' status," the warning states. It goes on to list a series of categories that are blocked, including adult/sexually explicit content, "criminal skills" and hacking.

Reportedly, all the major mobile broadband operators are blocking access to TPB.

Additionally, last Friday's verdict has had a chilling effect on torrent trackers; several have shut down since Friday.

And finally, more grim news for P2P fans, though it should not have been unexpected: content holders plan on filing future legal action to shut down The Pirate Bay with an injunction. Otherwise, since TPB just filed an appeal, the case could go on for years.