Illegal streaming sites to be blocked as court orders telcos to act

AUSTRALIANS are set to lose access to some of their favourite illegal streaming sites, after the Federal Court ordered a major crackdown by telcos.

Telstra, Optus, TPG, Vodafone and 48 other internet service providers have been told to block access to most illegal streaming sites in Australia, in a court order on Tuesday.

Action to block the sites has already commenced. It follows a three-year court charge led by an alliance of foreignowned television stations and filmmakers to prevent their content being accessed without payment.

Roadshow Cinemas led the charge, and was joined by Disney Enterprises, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros, and Netflix – as well as Chinese media companies Television Broadcasts and TVB. Some of the services now banned include flixtor, cipflix and various 123movies sites.

Justice Victor Nicholas ordered access to 63 streaming sites be banned in a bid to stop Australians breaching copyright via websites that “infringe, or facilitate the infringement of, copyright in large numbers of cinematograph films”, in a major crackdown. The telcos have been given seven days to block the sites, but many have already moved to lock Australians out of the streaming sites.

The move by Roadshow cinemas comes as the fight to stamp out illegal streaming heats up. In recent days, Roadshow cinemas signed a deal that would see it exclusively make movies for Fox Entertainment-owned streaming platform Tubi.

Paramount has also recently launched its Paramount+ streaming platform. No Australian media or production companies brought on the action to block the websites.

Justice Nicholas made the orders after none of the streaming websites responded to requests to join them to the matter and none appeared.

“I am satisfied that the applicants have made reasonable efforts to determine the identity and address of the persons who operate the relevant websites, and to give them notice of this proceeding and the orders sought,” Justice Nicholas said.

The move will see telcos block access to the IP address of almost every major illegal streaming site.

Justice Nicholas also gave the companies the power to come back to the court if they discovered any new websites operating under the same “brands” as those blocked.