Australia’s Piracy Crackdown Coming ‘As Early As This Week’: Three Strikes, Site Blocking On The Way

Get ready, Australia: pirating content in the great South Land is about to get much tougher, as the Federal Government considers implementing strict new anti-piracy measures “as early as this week” according to reports.

Fairfax is reporting that the Federal Government will implement anti-piracy measures “as early as this week”.

Leading the anti-piracy charge is Attorney General, George Brandis, who has had the problem of Aussie piracy on his plate since he took office last year. He has since been meeting with ISPs, telcos and rights holders, looking to find a tough solution to crack down on piracy.

He now has two.

The first is implementing controversial “three-strikes” provisions for offenders that would see copyright infringers given three warnings before potential litigation, charges and removal from an ISP is concerned.

The second is blocking pirate sites like The Pirate Bay.

Fairfax reports we may see one of these plans put into motion this week.

As a result of the anti-piracy considerations, lobbying of the Federal Government by film studios and other interested parties is currently at its peak, with everyone trying to make sure that their interests are protected.

Village Roadshow is one such group that has done its lobbying largely in public, inviting the Attorney-General, George Brandis, to private film screenings in Canberra where an executive extolled the benefits of a strong anti-piracy regime. Village Roadshow’s Graham Burke has also slammed Google Australia for trying to offer a sensible solution to Australia’s piracy epidemic.

Now, we play the waiting game to see which one bites pirates in the arse first.

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