April 22, 2009

By By Andre Paine, London

U.K. telco BT and other mobile providers have blocked access to P2P BitTorrent trackers including the Pirate Bay.

However, the move is a result of the content that such sites link to, rather than the issue of copyright infringement or the April 17 court verdict against the Pirate Bay in Sweden.

"BT and the other U.K. mobile operators have agreed and implemented a voluntary code of practise for mobile content that restricts access to content unsuitable for customers under the age of 18," said a BT statement. "The list of sites and content that is restricted is compiled by individual operators themselves. The warning that BT provides links to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) website for information on the code only."

BT customers who wish to have access to particular sites reactivated can do so by calling 150 in the U.K.

Meanwhile, the Pirate Bay verdict has had a knock-on effect on other P2P services. Another Swedish site, NordicBits, posted a message on the day of the verdict stating that it had closed and "the biggest reason is the Pirate Bay."

Other sites including PowerBits, PirateBits, MP3nerds and Wolfbits also appear to have shut. "The Swedish anti-piracy agency has triumphed over us," reads an administrator message on the Wolfbits forum.

Subscribe to Billboard magazine today!