In the past we have jokingly suggested that if consumers took to services like proxies and VPNs en-masse to circumvent site blocking, that new laws and licensing may appear. Well the Dutch Court appears to be edging down this path, with an order placed upon The Pirate Party in the country to stop publishing information on how to get around blocking that is in place in the country. One must really wonder now how far will the copyright holders and courts take their course of action.
The Dutch Court has ordered five providers to block access to The Pirate Bay, with a fine of €10,000 for every day beyond the ten days given to implement the block.
The old adage that all publicity is good publicity in terms of raising the profile of a person or product, appears to be holding up with regards to the blocking, as on 1st May, Pirate Bay had 12 million more visitors than ever before.
Having more visitors doesn't prove anything. We all went there out of curiosity :)