A number of blocked torrent websites now come with a warning from the Centre against the repercussions of accessing such sites. According to the order, "viewing, dowloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents" under a blocked URL is punishable with three years in jail and fine of up to Rs 3 lakh.
Several Internet Service Providers began showing this warning to users trying to access particular torrent websites over the weekend. The notice also provides "aggrieved persons" the option to file a complaint if they find their work illegally hosted on any such site. Sharing content from these websites are punishable under Copyright Act, 1957, according to the notice.
A few torrent websites, however, come with the earlier warning, which said: "Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. Please contact administrator for more information."
The notice comes weeks after popular torrents search engine torrentz.eu shut down, which followed the arrest of Artem Vaulin, the brain behind KickassTorrents – arguably the most widely used torrent site of its time. Authorities in various countries have been trying to shut down torrent sites in their battle against piracy, only to find that they crop up again under different domain names.
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