Popcorn Time became to be known as the worst possible piracy platform Hollywood could ever face, but exponential user base growth should instead serve as an indicator of what the consuming public really wants. Its’ popularity has continued to put it back in the legal spotlight, this time in the UK. The software quickly became the most popular movie streaming service used worldwide. Movie studios quickly acted to try and shut the service down, but due to moving towards Bittorrent file sharing rather than depending on hosted content, Popcorn Time’s latest platform survived, and thrived.
Since little could be done to legally block the client, the High Court in the UK ruled for the blocking of five domains offering download links to the app. Five major internet service providers have been ordered to block the client’s protocols from passing traffic through broadband subscriber connections. Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, BT, and EE will all comply with the new ruling. UK courts have attempted to block torrent websites, but efforts have been quickly overturned. Popcorn Time users have opted for VPN services to effectively encrypt the traffic, while large websites like the Pirate Bay have found ways to negate ISP blocks by using a cloud hosting service named CloudFare.
Blocking download sites will have very little effect on Popcorn Time users located in the UK. Using a proxy or VPN will allow them to access download sites if needed, and sharing the files through other platforms will be impossible to block. It is important to understand that the latest Popcorn Time clients themselves will continue to work unscathed, thanks to using a P2P bittorrent sharing platform.
None of the ISPs had any opposing comments to make. This can be somewhat concerning, that all five major UK telecommunication companies had little interest in discussing net neutrality. Maybe this specific platform is just one they don’t wish to defend. Popcorn Time developers made a public statement published on The Next Web.
If you’re having issues using Popcorn Time, check out our review of the best VPNs suited for it.
