Newzbin BT ban demanded for Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk

The movie industry is demanding the ban on Newzbin be extended to all the big UK Internet service providers. Film industry body the Motion Picture Association has now asked Virgin Media, Sky and TalkTalk to block the controversial members-only site, which collects links to copyright-infringing content.

The ISPs have indicated they will obey a court order, but none of the ISPs are happy about the situation. Virgin Media called for copyright holders and ISPs to offer "compelling legal alternatives" to piracy.

TalkTalk says it is "considering its response", but is unimpressed with having to meet the costs itself. BT was ordered to block Newzbin by a court back in July, and estimates the ban has cost around £5,000 to implement.

Newzbin is a Usenet group that allows users to search for copyright content such as films and music. It's currently blocked by BT after the MPA won a second court order against the site. Newzbin dodged an earlier ban by changing its name to Newzbin2 and moving its hosting to the Seychelles.

BT is stopping its customers from visiting the site using a modified version of Cleanfeed, a tool designed to stop Web surfers finding child pornography online. But the wily folk at Newzbin have handed out a downloadable client to subscribers that gets around the block.

British music licensing body the BPI has requested that the ban be extended to The Pirate Bay, a similar site.

Should the courts order ISPs to block Newzbin? Are there viable alternatives to illegal downloading? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.