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Russia's Site-Blocking System Isn't Performing & Could Even CollapseAndy Maxwell, 31 Mar 10:33 AM Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been going on for

Russia's Site-Blocking System Isn't Performing & Could Even Collapse Andy Maxwell, 31 Mar 10:33 AM Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been going on for more than a month. It isn't going to plan. In parallel with the terrible images being shared around the world, Russia is using its infamous site-blocking systems to deny access to websites that dare to challenge the Kremlin's narrative of Putin's 'Special Operation'. Telecoms regulator Roscomnadzor is working harder than ever to maintain its blockades against everything from Google News, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to the thousands of pirate sites and other resources on the country's blacklists. But, like the invasion itself, things aren't going to plan here either. Urgent Checks Carried Out On Ability to Block A little over a week ago, local telecoms operators supplying internet access to Russian citizens were ordered to carry out "urgent checks" on their ability to continue blocking sites deemed illegal by the state. ISPs were required to carry out an audit and liaise with telecoms regulator Roscomnadzor. Today is the reporting deadline but according to several sources, problems are apparent in the system. With accurate and critical reporting being all but strangled by the state, it is not absolutely clear who or what ordered the review but the consensus is that prescribed blocking standards aren't being met. As previously reported, local torrent site RuTracker suddenly found itself unblocked earlier this month, reportedly due to issues at an ISP. Problems are also reported with the Roscomnadzor-controlled 'TSPU' Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) system embedded into the networks of around 80 local ISPs and recently used to restrict Tor, VPNs and Twitter traffic. Since there is almost no detailed public information on how the TSPU system works, it's almost impossible to say what the issues are or what caused them. That being said, reports suggest that TPSU is not working on all ISPs and on others it is not configured properly. However, if today's issues are a concern for the Kremlin, in a few months the problem is likely to get a whole lot worse. Russia's Internet Sector is Under Threat As sanctions start to bite, Russia is coming under increasing pressure. This includes a lack of telecommunications equipment due to a shortage of components, something that will directly affect not just the effectiveness of Russia's blocking systems, but the entire telecoms sector. According to a Kommersant report citing a review by Russia's RSPP Commission for Communications and IT, the dire economic conditions have led to an assessment that ISPs and other telecoms companies only have enough hardware reserves to ensure operability of infrastructure for four to six months. Add in a 40% rise in purchase prices for equipment and predictions that up to 30% of technical experts could leave the country in the next few months, it's not hard to see the crisis ahead. For Russian authorities, however, the desire to block seems greater than ever, as evidenced by an instruction this week to block a section of Wikipedia. The order, dated March 28 (pdf), demands the blocking of information related to the 'Russian invasion of Ukraine' which appears to accurately describe just that. According to the Kremlin, however, it contains "false reports" of acts of terrorism and false information "distributed under the guise of reliable messages." The page poses a "threat or harm to life" and could lead to a "mass violation of public order", the notice adds. Citizens of Russia can file an appeal (here and here) to have a resource unblocked but it seems unlikely much attention will be paid to these in the current environment. If Russia's blocking system does break down, copyright holders will no doubt be disappointed. But for most of the rest of the world and growing sections of Russian society, it can't come soon enough. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. LiquidVPN Ordered to Pay Filmmakers $14m in Copyright Damages Ernesto Van der Sar, 30 Mar 10:22 PM A few years ago piracy-related lawsuits were pretty straightforward. Copyright holders would either sue alleged file-sharers or the operators of pirate sites. More recently, we have seen a new breed of lawsuits filed on behalf of the makers of movies such as "Angel Has Fallen", "Dallas Buyer's Club", "Hellboy" and "Rambo V: Last Blood". These lawsuits target VPN providers, which are generally seen as third-party intermediaries. This includes LiquidVPN. The company was taken to court in March last year, shortly after the former owner was sued in a separate lawsuit. The new owner, Puerto Rico company 1701 Management, is allegedly linked to U.S. resident Mr. Muszynski, who continued operating the service. While running a VPN doesn't equal copyright infringement, the movie companies accused the service of encouraging and facilitating piracy. 'Popcorn-Time VPN' The complaint mentioned a variety of examples where the defendants directly or indirectly referenced copyright-infringing activity. This includes a screenshot of Popcorn Time which shows the Millennium film Survivor. The movie companies argue that, through various public statements, LiquidVPN 'encouraged' users to use its service to pirate movies. "The LiquidVPN Defendants describe their VPN service as a tool to 'Watch Popcorn Time without being detected by your ISP and P2P tracking software' and promote it as a tool that can be used to pirate copyright protected content 'without the risk of getting caught by your ISP or anyone else'," they wrote. Despite the serious allegations, 1701 Management and its alleged owner failed to respond in court. As such, the film companies requested a default judgment. This request was initially denied, as other defendants in the case had yet to resolve their disputes, but last week the filmmakers got the green light. In the request for a default judgment, the rightsholders asked for nearly $10 million in copyright infringement damages, for a total of 66 films. They also sought millions in damages for DMCA violations, as well as damages for trademark infringement. Court Issues Default Judgment This week, Florida federal Judge Beth Bloom granted most of the demands. Without LiquidVPN putting up a defense, the court relied on the accusations of the filmmakers, which were properly plead and accepted as true. "LiquidVPN Defendants intentionally induced and encouraged direct infringement of users of Popcorn Time," Judge Bloom writes, adding that the VPN provider is liable for direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement. The court stresses that the defendants don't qualify for safe harbor protection, as they didn't have a known repeat infringer policy or a registered DMCA agent. "LiquidVPN Defendants have no safe harbor from liability because they fail to implement a policy for terminating repeat infringers and have not registered a DMCA agent with the Copyright office," Judge Bloom adds. Millions in Damages The list of infringed films is 66 titles long and includes "After We Collided", "Angel Has Fallen", "Dallas Buyer's Club", "Hellboy", "Hunter Killer", "Rambo V: Last Blood", "Survivor", "The Hitman's Bodyguard", and "Wild Horses". For all these films, the LiquidVPN defendants have to pay the maximum statutory damages for copyright infringement, set at $150,000 per work. That adds up to a total of $9.9 million. In addition, they have to pay $4.9 million for altering copyright management information, which violates the DMCA. The court also granted the request for a permanent injunction that requires LiquidVPN to block the piracy websites included in USTR's annual overview. Those include The Pirate Bay, RARBG, and YTS. In addition, it must implement a repeat infringer policy. Whether LiquidVPN will comply with these requests is unknown. The homepage has been offline for a few months now, but the user panel where people can place new orders still appears to be operational. Popcorn Time Trademark In addition to the copyright-related damages, Judge Bloom also awarded $250,000 in trademark infringement damages to the Hawaiian company 42 Ventures. This company is owned by anti-piracy attorney Kerry Culpepper, who previously registered the "Popcorn Time" trademark. Two years ago, Culpepper used this trademark to suspend the Twitter account of a popular Popcorn Time fork. In the present case, LiquidVPN was successfully accused of using the trademark without authorization. "LiquidVPN Defendants have intentionally used Plaintiff 42's Mark Popcorn Time in U.S. commerce without authorization or license by using the name 'Popcorn Time VPN' to promote their VPN service to use the piracy application Popcorn Time," Judge Bloom writes. As far as we know, this is the first default judgment against a VPN provider. Other companies including VPN Unlimited and VPN.ht have been sued as well, but these settled their disputes out of court. — A copy of U.S. District Court Beth Bloom's final default judgment and permanent injunction is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2022 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company