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TalkTalk forced to block Newzbin2

Internet service provider TalkTalk has joined the likes of BT and Sky in blocking the Usenet aggregator Newzbin2.The company confirmed on Tuesday that it had been forced to begin the blocking process following receipt of a court order in January.
Written by Ben Woods, Contributor

Internet service provider TalkTalk has joined the likes of BT and Sky in blocking the Usenet aggregator Newzbin2.

The company confirmed on Tuesday that it had been forced to begin the blocking process following receipt of a court order in January. "We received a court order on Thursday 9 January requiring us to block access to Newzbin," a spokesman for the company told ZDNet UK. "We will comply with the decision made by the court and are in the process of doing this."

TalkTalk had previously said it would only block the service if it had no choice but said that deterrents, such as site blocking, should be accompanied by "compelling legal alternatives".

"TalkTalk have always maintained that we are not in principle against blocking provided there is a court order," the spokesman added.

In November 2011, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) informed TalkTalk and Virgin Media that it would be seeking court orders to force the blocking of the file-sharing site.

The MPA already won a court order in July forcing BT to prevent its customers accessing the site. Shortly after, the government dropped plans for mandatory blocking of commercial-scale copyright-infringing websites.

A Virgin Media spokeswoman told ZDNet UK on Tuesday that it was not currently blocking its customers from accessing the Newzbin2 website.

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