- India went from blocking access to controlling piracy to freezing domains
- Registrars now face court orders along with internet providers
- Domain suspensions prevent fast restart on identical web addresses
For years, India’s fight against piracy relied heavily on ordering local internet providers to block access to specific websites.
Those measures often had limited impact, as operators could change domain names or duplicate their services elsewhere.
Recent rulings by the Delhi High Court have expanded that approach, allowing actions not only against access providers but also against domain registrars.
Go from access blocking to domain control
Under these broader “blocking and suspension” directives, domain names linked to suspected piracy operations can be frozen and effectively removed from circulation.
Rather than simply restricting access within India, these orders can disable domains at the registry level, a change that changes the technical mechanics of enforcement and increases the immediate disruption faced by affected platforms.
One of the notable features 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 maintains that these actions have been unusually disruptive for operators of streaming and downloading sites, with platforms such as Animeflix, Vegamovies, Fmovies, SFlix and VidSrc being among those cited as being affected.
The 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 immediate shutdowns and access to identifying information for potential follow-up actions.
Industry groups say these enforcement measures are changing overall patterns of online piracy traffic, arguing that websites focused on American movies and television now account for a smaller proportion of major piracy platforms.
They also add that anime and manga piracy sites are becoming more dominant in the main rankings.
While correlation does not necessarily establish causation, rights holders attribute some of this change to consistent enforcement orders.
Despite praise for the current framework, IIPA continues to classify India as a high priority concern and recommends its inclusion in the Priority Watch List.
The group argues that some Internet service providers are slow to comply with blocking directives and demand stricter deadlines, and notes that not all foreign domain registrars comply with Indian court orders, limiting their overall reach.
There are more calls to replicate the Delhi High Court model in other Indian states and strengthen the proposed legislation with additional anti-piracy provisions.
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.
Through torrent monster
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
