14 DAY TRIAL // Demonoid is no longer accessible to users in Italy after the Communications Regulatory Authority ordered local ISPs to block access to the site following a complaint from Sony, Warner and Universal.
Italy has given its regulatory authority quite a bit of power these past few months, allowing for site blocking decision to be taken without any kind of legal overview, which is how Demonoid got into the situation it is in, TorrentFreak reports.
As you may know, after nearly two years of being offline, the Demonoid tracker came back online earlier this year. In the time since then, it has managed to rebuild some of its community and it is back at getting millions of visitors per month, which is enough to draw the attention of various copyright holders.
FIMI, an anti-piracy group that represents Sony, Warner and Universal, has complained to AGCOM (Communications Regulatory Authority) last month and measures have finally been taken against Demonoid after the site was deemed to be infringing.
As always, instead of asking the ISPs to block access to various infringing works, such as those of Italian artists represented by the aforementioned labels, the regulatory body moved to block the entire site. This is an attitude we’ve seen among many copyright holders and their representatives, simply asking Google to remove home pages rather than links towards infringing content.
AGCOM’s powers questioned by consumer groups
TorrentFreak spoke to Fulvio Sarzana, lawyer specialized in Internet and copyright issues. He believes that the new order that got Demonoid blocked is too broad, because the ruling given by the Court of Rome refers to illegal content only, not the entire site.
“Demonoid would do well to contest the measure which appears to be illegitimate,” Sarzana encouraged the admins of the site, adding that the AGCOM procedures may very well be unconstitutional.
In fact, there have been quite a few consumer groups that have asked the court to review the legitimacy of AGCOM’s legitimacy. The Court of Rome pushed the complaints off its plate and onto the one of the Constitutional Court, who will examine and decide if the AGCOM procedures violate the right to freedom of expression and free speech.
Until then, however, AGCOM will continue to do its business as per usual, and will likely block off some more sites in the months to come until a ruling from the Constitutional Court is granted.