Friend MTS – What Mohammed Ali can teach us about blocking and its role in fighting piracy
Robin Boldon, Head of Product, Friend MTS
With nearly a decade of experience under its belt since pioneering the use of server blocking technology in 2017, Friend MTS is keen to address many misconceptions about blocking currently doing the rounds, generated by media coverage of international blocking-related incidents.
Legendary boxer Mohammed Ali packed not only a powerful punch but also delivered some knock-out punchlines. His infamous “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.” encapsulates how Ali achieved the perfect balance of being light and fast on his feet in order to deliver nuanced, accurate hits to stun his opponents in the ring.
Getting the balance right is one of the key issues to consider when stopping access to illegal content by blocking pirate sources. Several recent examples of blocking around the world have been courting controversy and debate about the effectiveness and consequences of blocking technologies. One of the main criticisms levelled against such services is their heavy handedness and lack of accuracy which has impacted not just their effectiveness but also led to the phenomenon of overblocking – in other words access to legitimate services has been blocked.
With nearly a decade of experience under our belt deploying blocking successfully and safely with big-name broadcasters, content producers, and sports rights owners, we’re keen to strike a blow to some of the misconceptions about blocking that these incidents have triggered.
Delivering a knock-out blow to piracy
For Ali, success was much more than a well-placed wallop. “Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round. I’m the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skilfullest fighter in the ring today.”
Likewise, done properly, blocking hits pirate opponents very hard indeed. Once an organization has determined that content is being stolen, blocking is a highly effective and impactful way to safeguard and secure content owners’ and rights holders’ revenues by cutting off access to illegal streams.
But the devil is in the detail. Blocking is hugely complex and multi-layered. It is not just a technical tool but a legal one too. Given the labyrinthine nature of the internet, carrying out any act of targeted, specific traffic blocking is tremendously complex.
Heavy-handedness leads to overblocking
Overblocking can block access to legitimate CDNs and impact ‘good traffic’. For example, an IP address belonging to CDN Cloudflare found itself on the wrong side of blocking capabilities in Italy and prevented innocent traffic from reaching the ODW Prison Volunteers Association and Elimobile, a telecoms company, among others.
As internet users lose access to websites that have nothing to do with piracy, this is understandably causing much anger and frustration. This fear of overblocking has led to distrust from legitimate companies about the burdensome requirements of such blocking techniques as well as concerns about privacy rights with the likes of AirVPN discontinuing its services in Italy.
Float like a butterfly: a blocking balancing act
The first step to deploying blocking successfully is to select the right blocking method for the job. This will vary depending on several factors including content type, and the location of licensed legitimate transmission. For example, Domain Blocking works to stop access to pirated content at a domain resolution level, whilst Dynamic Delivery Server Blocking restricts access to pirated content at the IP address level. Each solution has a raft of benefits that can help secure media and protect revenue.
Just as important, however, is establishing which targets should not be blocked. It’s critical that blocking is implemented on the back of best-in-class monitoring functions to provide forensically accurate lists of candidate sites to ensure that any blocking target won’t cause collateral damage on unrelated and legitimate services.
It is also crucial to recognize that sometimes blocking is not the right approach. For example, if a hosting provider demonstrates a willingness to proactively remove illegal content from their network in an appropriate time-frame, they should not be subject to blocking.
Sting like a bee: safe implementation
Deploying the right blocking, in the right way, at the right time for different types of customers operating in different territories, requires a broad and deep understanding of the piracy landscape to give informed insights, combined with a detailed knowledge of diverse and differing legal requirements.
Ensuring safe, robust blocking – and by definition avoiding any instances of overblocking – requires meticulously researched “allow lists” and “never block lists”, especially if the blocking system includes automation. It is critical to be aware of which hosting providers, domains, or services should never be subject to blocking, even if partially used to facilitate piracy.
Blocking should also only be applied for the appropriate time period. For example, when protecting a specific live sporting event, the block should be lifted as soon as it finishes.
Active and ongoing list of targets should be regularly reviewed as hosting providers reallocate IP addresses from pirate operators to unrelated and legitimate businesses; if this happens, the block must be lifted.
I’m not the greatest. I’m the double greatest.
With his lightning speed delivery and wit, Ali transformed the world of boxing and brought true star quality to the game.
Sometimes there was even a touch of humility: “There are no pleasures in a fight, but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.”
Given the time-sensitive nature and global popularity of live sports, fighting live sports piracy requires speed but also accuracy to take down illegal streams.
Continuous, rigorous checking is needed to ensure over-blocking is avoided at all costs.
And we’re very proud of our unmatched record in removing illegal streams in less than four minutes of notification.
But, giving Ali the last word, rest assured we are working on rivalling Ali’s speed:
“I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and got into bed before the room was dark.”
