- India Changed Anti-Piracy From Blocking Access to Freezing Domains
- Registrars now face court rulings alongside Internet service providers
- Domain suspensions prevent rapid relaunch under identical web addresses
For years, the fight against piracy in India has relied largely on instructing local Internet service providers to block access to specific websites.
These measures often had a limited impact, because operators could change their domain name or replicate their services elsewhere.
Recent decisions by the Delhi High Court have expanded this approach, allowing action not only against ISPs, but also against domain registrars.
Switch from access blocking to domain control
Under these broader “lock and suspend” guidelines, domain names linked to suspected hacking operations can be frozen and effectively removed from circulation.
Instead of simply restricting access in India, these orders can disable domains at the registration level, a change that alters technical enforcement mechanisms and increases the immediate disruption faced by affected platforms.
A notable feature of these orders is their application to foreign domain registrars, including companies based in the United States.
By requiring registrars to suspend domains and provide registrant details, the court extends the impact beyond Indian borders, which may prevent operators from quickly restoring services under the same domain name.
According to the International Intellectual Property Alliance, more than 400 pirated domains have been completely removed, representing billions of visits worldwide.
The group says these actions have proven particularly disruptive for operators of streaming and download sites, with platforms such as Animeflix, Vegamovies, Fmovies, SFlix and VidSrc among those cited as having been affected.
IIPA also credits the Delhi High Court for demonstrating a detailed understanding of the infrastructure of digital piracy and granting remedies that go beyond traditional blocking measures.
By combining ISP restrictions with registrar-level interventions, rights holders gain both immediate shutdowns and access to credentials for possible follow-up actions.
Industry groups say these enforcement actions are changing overall patterns of online piracy traffic, arguing that websites focused on American films and television now represent a smaller share of major piracy platforms.
They also add that anime and manga piracy sites are becoming more and more dominant in major rankings.
Although correlation does not necessarily establish causation, rights holders attribute some of this change to consistent enforcement orders.
Despite the praise for the current framework, the IIPA continues to rate India as a high priority concern and recommends its inclusion on the Priority Watch List.
The group says some internet service providers are slow to comply with blocking guidelines and calls for stricter deadlines, and notes that not all foreign domain registrars are complying with Indian court orders, limiting their overall reach.
There are further calls to replicate the Delhi High Court model in other Indian states and to strengthen the proposed legislation with additional provisions against piracy.
This registrar-level strategy clearly increases pressure on site operators, although its long-term deterrent effect will likely depend on consistent enforcement and cross-border cooperation.
Via Torrent Monster
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