“Copyright Alert System” Goes Live

For the last 4 years, the MPAA and RIAA have been working with the big ISPs to create their own system for the purpose to decrease the number of online copyright infringements and infringers. The “Copyright Alert System” includes participation by AT&T, Cablevision Systems, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon. Others can join.

These residential ISPs have initiated “mitigation measures” that might include reducing internet  thruput and redirecting a subscriber’s service to an “educational” landing page about infringement.

The Center for Copyright Information, the new group running the program, maintains it is not designed to terminate online accounts for repeat infringers. However, the DMCA demands that ISPs create and follow a “repeat infringer” policy which may include suspension or termination of service for repeat infringers.

The program monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing services via internet snoop MarkMonitor of San Francisco.
Peer-to-peer monitoring is easily detectable.  That’s because IP addresses of internet customers usually reveal themselves during the transfer of files.  Cyberlockers, e-mail attachments, shared Dropbox folders and other ways to infringe are not included in the crackdown.

More information may be obtained here.