The quicksand enveloping AllofMp3 just got a little deeper. A Dutch court has told ISP Tele2 AB that they must block subscribers from accessing AllofMp3 via their network. The ruling comes as the result of a lawsuit filed by the Dutch arm of the IFPI.
"This judgment is one more step along the road to getting this rogue site closed down," John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of IFPI, said in a statement Thursday. "Allofmp3.com illegally offers for sale copies of music that it has no right to reproduce or distribute."
I'm all for ending AllofMp3's rein of pennies-on-the-dollar piracy but this is not the way for the IFPI to win hearts and minds. I can't find much background on this case but, it seems ludicrous to me that the IFPI would attack a Dutch ISP and ask a court to block the ISP's subscribers legal and unfettered access to the Internet. Blocking sites sets a very bad precedent and, frankly, is something I wouldn't have expected to see from a progressive European country.
[via MSNBC]
1. That should be "Court tells Danish ISP to block AllofMp3".
More info here:
http://www.kimrom.info/2006/10/26/the-internet-police-might-be-coming/
http://www.henrikharsbo.dk/getit/2006/10/court_cuts_off_.html
Posted at 8:52AM on Oct 28th 2006 by Jan Lund Thomsen