Internet service providers (ISPs) have come under renewed pressure from the film and music industry to block websites that offer filesharing facilities.
Copyright holders from both industries have banded together and identified around 100 websites they claim are being used to illegally distribute copyrighted material.
Film and music moguls want to work closely with ISPs to create a voluntary code of conduct that would allow both parties to take action against filesharing websites.
According to the Guardian, however, the voluntary code is fraught with enforcement problems and it is unclear if the music and film industries would have to pay compensation to websites that successfully dodge a content ban.
“Site blocking is an interesting concept which we’re open to, but there are issues on how to make it work, how to give sites a fair hearing, its governance structure and indemnity,” one insider close to the discussions claimed.
Recently, Google began trialling of a piece of software that allows Web users to block search results they fear may link to malware hosting websites.