Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony Music and Australasian Performing Right Association/Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Music (APRA AMCOS) have applied through the Australian Government’s new piracy legislation to have torrent site Kickass Torrents blocked from Australian users.
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ITNews reported that an application was also made to block related proxy sites in an effort to stop Kickass Torrents using workarounds.
“These sites do nothing but exploit the creativity of others and give nothing back to the artists, songwriters, record labels and music publishers whose music is stolen and made available on them, as they make millions of dollars from the advertising which appears on them,” APRA AMCOS said in a statement.
“Australian music fans already have access — for free if they choose — to the world’s repertoire of music via more than 20 legitimate licensed online music services,” said Jenny Morris, Chair of the APRA Board. “Blocking access to sites like Kickass Torrents is all about supporting those services and allowing the writers whose songs are available on them to be paid for their work.”
The legislation that allowed content rights holders to apply for an order to block websites that facilitate piracy in Australia was passed in February last year, and it was used for the first time in March with Foxtel and Village Roadshow seeking to block The Pirate Bay, SolarMovie, Torrentz, TorrentHound and IsoHunt websites. The case will be returning to court on 6 May.