Blocking Users From Pirating Site Not Effective Deterrent, EU Appeals Court Rules

Blocking a major hub for illegally-uploaded material has not deterred internet users in the Netherlands from finding that material elsewhere, a European appeals court ruled this week in a decision that reversed a 2012 order forcing that country to seal off customers from the Pirate Bay BitTorrent search engine. In fact, the ruling noted, traffic for copyrighted material had actually increased since the site was blocked, as users sought out alternative sources.