ISPs Adopt Alert System To Warn Users of Illegal Downloads

If you’re a person who downloads torrents on a regular basis, you might want to watch what you do from today on as Internet service providers will begin cracking down on users who download copyrighted material.

The Copyright Alert System (CAS) will be used by AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon and will allow for content creators to send notices to ISPs that include a list of people who they believe have downloaded copyrighted material through “peer-to-peer” services.

The violators will receive up to six notices, each “with an increasing degree of seriousness.” The first two notices will be “educational alerts” meant to inform the subscriber illegal content is being downloaded under their account. The next two are “acknowledgment” notices that will require a response from the recipient, and the last two will be “mitigation” alerts, that will try to impose consequences to help emphasize the seriousness of the situation.

After the sixth warning, ISPs may take it upon themselves to throttle the users’ Internet speeds or deny them Internet access until they acknowledge the alerts sent by way of a dedicated landing page.

Daniel Perez
Categories: Web
Tags: downloads, illegal, isp, torrent