Russia permanently blocks Dailymotion following copyright violations

Russia has allegedly blocked online video service Dailymotion after the site was found to be illegally hosting TV content.

According to reports, including by The Hollywood Reporter, Russia has permanently blocked access to Dailymotion, a France-based video hosting service owned by mass media conglomerate Vivendi.

The complaint reportedly came from the media division of Gazprom, a Russian natural gas company, after it found that Dailymotion was hosting illegal web content.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Moscow city court ruled that Dailymotion had “repeatedly violated” the country’s copyright law after it hosted shows such as Russian TV show “Pyatnitsya!”.

Gazprom Media “repeatedly” complained about its shows being illegally uploaded to Dailymotion last year, said reports.

Some of the content was removed after court rulings, but some “kept reappearing” on the online video service.

A final warning was reportedly issued to Dailymotion in December last year. However, the company “did not react” to the warning as it does not have an office in Russia.

The repeated violations led to the permanent blocking of access and local internet providers will reportedly  have to comply with the ruling within one week.

A spokesperson from Vivendi told WIPR: “We had no prior knowledge of any ongoing court procedure against Dailymotion over that matter. All necessary steps are being taken to make contact with relevant authorities in Russia and resolve the issue.”

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