Blocking piracy sites is effective…
According to a study funded by the Republic of Korea and published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Around 73% of blocked websites experienced a decrease in traffic, which seems to confirm the effectiveness of the blocking. However, the same study published by TorrentFreak shows that more than a quarter of domains saw an increase in visits after the ban. Of the 6,573 domain names listed in the WIPO database, only 432 provided usable traffic data. The study therefore represents a limitation in the evaluation of the blockade and its effectiveness.
The impact of lockdown measures varies greatly from country to country. For example, in Italy, all domain names saw fewer visits after the blocking, while in Lithuania, traffic to pirate sites remained the same or even increased. The effectiveness of blocking is therefore influenced by external factors; Strategies need to be adapted to the specific context of each country.
…but sometimes it has the completely opposite effect
Data from the WIPO study shows that blocking can reduce traffic to pirated content. However, the increase in traffic for some domains post-blocking suggests that current measures are not enough to completely eradicate piracy.
The study results also indicate that a ban does not necessarily lead to a switch to legal offers. The most determined users find other ways to access pirated contentwhile others give up without resorting to legal alternatives, often for financial reasons.
The effectiveness of the blockade is therefore doubtful. As the WIPO study shows, when certain websites experience a decline in traffic, others experience increased traffic. Can blocking then be considered a viable solution? Because, given the Streisand effect that the measure seems to bring, sometimes it seems better not to block: the press, which repeats the announcements about the blocking and closure of the most famous websites, leads to the discovery of the practice and addresses for Internet users . And the latter might be tempted to get involved in illegal downloads of films and series.
