The UK EE Mobile Operator Blocks Music Piracy Platforms After Enhancing the Network

It is 2022, and content piracy prospers. So, British Phonographic Industry (abbreviated: BPI) enhances networks to continue minimizing counterfeit content consumption. The company announced securing an expansion on 12th July. 

Why Is Piracy Still a Thing? 

BPI has already blocked over seventy websites that illegally distribute music files. Those are mostly torrents, streaming platforms, and websites that specialize in selling counterfeit products. The company saw the issue arise when technical advancement led us to have 4G and 5G opportunities. And mobile operators did not block those websites before. Let us also note that the Internet has weak regulations, and official companies cannot always take piracy sites down, leaving platforms with stolen content to function. 

About BPI EE Blocks 

The new content protection system is an advancement of what has already existed and what now expands on mobile operators. BPI has been blocking piracy applications and sites since 2011. The company estimates costs for music piracy as £200 million per year. Nevertheless, recent years show that users switch to official and legit subscriptions more — in 2021, that number increased to 85 million. 

Network-level style methods are the base for piracy site blockage. So, the updated mobile network architecture restricts those websites, which is the maximum for now. Hence, we may anticipate an uprise in legit subscriptions. Of course, that inconveniences people who have gotten used to free music, even if there is worse quality. 

The Update’s Effectiveness

That does not cancel the opportunities to VPN your way to the blocked website. In addition, third-party encrypted DNS servers and proxies can help a pirate overcome the obstacle. So, the restriction will discourage more audiences from consuming stolen content. But we have yet to wait for the complete piracy downfall.