The ridiculously popular site Putlocker has been blocked, making it a bad news Friday for people who like to stream their entertainment for free.
The site, which streams a huge library of TV shows and movies, was hit by a High Court ruling after the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) argued that the site breached the copyright of their major Hollywood studio members.
Following the verdict, major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Virgin Media and Sky are required to prevent any of their users from accessing Putlocker and a number of similar sites.
Virgin said in a statement: “Virgin Media prides itself on being a responsible ISP and will block websites when ordered to do so by the courts.”
The wider crackdown on piracy means that this news was pretty much inevitable at some point; not much in life comes for free forever.
Still, a quick look at the internet reaction to the ruling tells you that there’s been a bit of a meltdown.
A moments silence for Putlocker for being there in times of need when others weren't
— r (@rvhix) May 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/ShahXCIV/status/735976753563324416
https://twitter.com/notjustblondee/status/735899957165723648
https://twitter.com/KiallAlexander/status/735823350589759492
https://twitter.com/Xevepaterson/status/735606884384841732
My life was looking up… Until I find out virgin have blocked Putlocker. Like what do I do now?
— LiamStanners (@liamstanners) May 25, 2016
Omfg putlocker has been blocked by Virgin media this is the single worst day of my life 😭😭😭😭😭😭 this is UNFAIR AND CRUEL
— Grace (@gracetovell) May 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/KiallAlexander/status/735823350589759492
This guy is taking his complaint right to the top:
https://twitter.com/YoureAroach/status/735539388051009536
Of course, like many other streaming sites put in a similar bind before it, Putlocker will probably just start using proxies to dodge the ISP bans, but you’ll have to keep searching them out.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
