The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block sites of 11 domains and subdomains under the YTS brand, one of the top piracy websites in the world.
As of May 18, almost all ISPs are signatories to the site-blocking memorandum of understanding between government and ISPs have cut access to the sites.
In the order dated May 16, NTC commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez directed all concerned ISPs “to effect the immediate blocking of the reported websites” associated to YTS, namely yts.mx, yts.rs, yts.do, ytsuproxy.to, yts.dirproxy, yts.unblocked love, ytssss.jamsbase.com, yts.lt, yts.ag, yts.am and torrents.yts.rs.
The NTC order stemmed from a request by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) dated May 3.
A May 2 decision of IPOPHL’s IP Rights Enforcement Office (IEO) found the websites to have all committed piracy or copyright infringement, violating Section 216 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, as well as Memorandum Circular 23-025 or the Rules on Voluntary Administrative Site Blocking.
“A thorough examination reveals that all of the aforementioned websites are hosting pirated versions of movies or TV shows, allowing users to access these illegal copies by downloading them through links on the same website or by streaming them online,” read the IEO decision.
IPOPHL was not able to contact the administrators of the pirated sites after reasonable efforts to identify them. As a way of notification according to the rules on site-blocking, IPOPHL posted the request on its website.
After giving respondents five working days to respond or raise any protest against the decision, IPOPHL served the site-blocking request to NTC and ISPs on May 14.
According to IPOPHL, infringers were operating by using various methods to distribute and access copyrighted material illegally, including via peer-to-peer networks for sharing files, hosting content on illegal streaming websites, distributing files via direct downloads and using tools like virtual private networks to hide their activities.
The decision said the websites under complaint are also listed in the WIPO Alert, a data-sharing platform on piracy of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
“Millions of netizens visit this website so this a major win for the creative industry. We encourage more stakeholders to come forward, file a complaint and further disrupt access to piracy websites,” said Rowel Barba, IPOPHL director-general.
This represented the first site-blocking request of IPOPHL.
YTS is the official home of YIFY, one of the world’s most prolific sites involved in the illegal replication and distribution of copyright content. A 2015 report from the Motion Picture Association (MPA) of America said the site has a library of some 4,500 infringing motion picture titles.
The issuance stemmed from a complaint filed by the MPA.
“This site blocking order and forthcoming blocking actions will have a substantial impact on the Philippines piracy landscape. We will continue to work closely with the Philippines’ government and creative industry in the fight against the scourge of digital piracy,” the MPA said in a statement.
The MPA’s member studios include Netflix Studios, LLC; Paramount Pictures Corp.; Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.; Universal City Studios LLC; Disney Enterprises, Inc.; and Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., among others.
