US ISPs enact 6 strike law for illegal P2P

[caseagainstfaith]

A coalition of copyright holders and ISPs like Comcast and Verizon this week signed up for the "Copyright Alert System," which will provide notices to consumers if they are suspected of illegal downloading.

Many ISPs already provide warnings to users if sketchy behavior is detected, but the Copyright Alert System is intended to provide a standardized approach that all ISPs will use. But how does it actually work? Is my ISP going to be snooping on my Web activity to catch me illegally downloading an episode of "Dexter"? Will ISPs hand this info over to the RIAA and MPAA so they can sue me? We took a look at the new plan and some of the top questions that have emerged since the announcement.

Is my ISP participating?
Participating ISPs include AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon.

Who is backing this plan?
Associated companies and groups include: Motion Picture Association of American and MPAA members like Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal Studios, and Warner Brothers Entertainment; Independent Film & Television Alliance; Recording Industry Association of America and RIAA members like Universal Music Group Recordings, Warner Music Group, Sony Music North America, and EMI Music North America; American Association of Independent Music; and the ISPs.

What if I'm getting alerts but am not actually downloading anything illegal?
The system allows you to request an independent review before any of those mitigation measures are put into place, but it will cost you $35.

source - www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388261,00.asp

I have a feeling ISPs are gonna get sued left and right, because what they are proposing is almost impossible to be 100% accurate with and who in their right might is really gonna pay 35 USD to have them look into a website that is legal to begin with when it is easier at least in the US to sue someone instead.

[Dragon Zachski]

I'm just hoping they monitor downloads and not P2P activity itself - I don't want to be playing a game that uses a P2P connection only to get 6 strikes in a row for what they suspect is "illegal activity"

[caseagainstfaith]

Jul 8, 2011 19:08:05 GMT -5 Dragon Zachski said:

I'm just hoping they monitor downloads and not P2P activity itself - I don't want to be playing a game that uses a P2P connection only to get 6 strikes in a row for what they suspect is "illegal activity"

Meh if you get 6 strikes and you were doing nothing illegal, that's just when you sue and laugh at them.

[Bezron]

Jul 8, 2011 19:08:05 GMT -5 Dragon Zachski said:

I'm just hoping they monitor downloads and not P2P activity itself - I don't want to be playing a game that uses a P2P connection only to get 6 strikes in a row for what they suspect is "illegal activity"

Just to be clear, it isn't the ISP that is monitoring. It is the copyright holder.

Order of operations is thus:

Copyright holder notices your IP> copyright holder looks up ISP for IP> IP submitted to ISP for action> ISP takes action> ISP not required to do anything beyond actually sending you warnings and education materials.

This only allows for ISPs to do something to get copyright holders to shut the hell up.

[booley]

Jul 8, 2011 20:35:20 GMT -5 caseagainstfaith said:

Jul 8, 2011 19:08:05 GMT -5 Dragon Zachski said:

I'm just hoping they monitor downloads and not P2P activity itself - I don't want to be playing a game that uses a P2P connection only to get 6 strikes in a row for what they suspect is "illegal activity"

Meh if you get 6 strikes and you were doing nothing illegal, that's just when you sue and laugh at them.

Yes, you can just sue a multi billion dollar company with a fleet of lawyers by yourself using the best lawyer a *part time clerk at 7-11 can buy.

Have fun with that.

* or whatever job you have because chances are it can't compare to what a multi-billion dollar company makes.

[Smurfette Principle]

There's always the ACLU.

[Vene]

Jul 9, 2011 13:28:51 GMT -5 booley said:

Jul 8, 2011 20:35:20 GMT -5 caseagainstfaith said:

Meh if you get 6 strikes and you were doing nothing illegal, that's just when you sue and laugh at them.

Yes, you can just sue a multi billion dollar company with a fleet of lawyers by yourself using the best lawyer a *part time clerk at 7-11 can buy.

Have fun with that.

* or whatever job you have because chances are it can't compare to what a multi-billion dollar company makes.

And this is exactly why class action lawsuits exist. Even if they have been weakened

[Dragon Zachski]

Jul 9, 2011 13:28:51 GMT -5 booley said:

Jul 8, 2011 20:35:20 GMT -5 caseagainstfaith said:

Meh if you get 6 strikes and you were doing nothing illegal, that's just when you sue and laugh at them.

Yes, you can just sue a multi billion dollar company with a fleet of lawyers by yourself using the best lawyer a *part time clerk at 7-11 can buy.

Have fun with that.

* or whatever job you have because chances are it can't compare to what a multi-billion dollar company makes.

I'm pretty sure a part time clerk at 7-11 makes more money than unemployed with no unemployment.

[caseagainstfaith]

Jul 9, 2011 13:46:53 GMT -5 Vene said:

Jul 9, 2011 13:28:51 GMT -5 booley said:

Yes, you can just sue a multi billion dollar company with a fleet of lawyers by yourself using the best lawyer a *part time clerk at 7-11 can buy.

Have fun with that.

* or whatever job you have because chances are it can't compare to what a multi-billion dollar company makes.

And this is exactly why class action lawsuits exist. Even if they have been weakened

And there could be A LOT of them if this article has any weight and it could affect small business owners.

Millions of small business owners may soon realize that their Internet service could be disrupted if they're wrongly accused of illegal file sharing or downloading under the "six strikes" plan entertainment media groups announced this week.

source- www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/235329/why_your_business_should_worry_about_the_isp_copyright_fight.html

I could see small business owners uniting if this starts affecting their business and they aren't doing anything illegal. Which could help the fight a lot.

[Amaranth]

Jul 9, 2011 13:46:53 GMT -5 Vene said:

And this is exactly why class action lawsuits exist. Even if they have been weakened

It's also exactly why they won't exist for long.

Think of all that money lost when those pesky people exercise their rights and corporations are forced to stop. Or pretend to stop.

[Hyperio]

Too bad that with the Patriot Act any semblance of privacy is gone - at least for some groups.

Also, with the current attitude of SCOTUS and law makers it's going to be increasingly difficult to start the class action suit. Because of course, "corporate money is a protected freedom of speech".

The loss of small businesses will be considered a gain of the big players (less competition!), and treated accordingly - with shampagne.

[Amaranth]

Jul 9, 2011 16:21:55 GMT -5 Hyperio said:

Too bad that with the Patriot Act any semblance of privacy is gone - at least for some groups.

Also, with the current attitude of SCOTUS and law makers it's going to be increasingly difficult to start the class action suit. Because of course, "corporate money is a protected freedom of speech".

The loss of small businesses will be considered a gain of the big players (less competition!), and treated accordingly - with shampagne.

Ilove the fact that health care will destroy small business so we can't have it. Minimum wage increases will hurt small businesses, so we can't have it. But if this hurts small businesses, there will be a deafening silence from all those "concerned" individuals.

[MaybeNever]

Why drink sham-pagne when you can cause REAL pain?

[Hyperio]

Jul 9, 2011 17:15:07 GMT -5 MaybeNever said:

Why drink sham-pagne when you can cause REAL pain?

I apologize. I sometimes confuse US politicians with Bond villains. But Bond villains have style, so I have to say sorry to them as well.

But thanks to TPM, we know know they drink $350 wine.

[Rat Of Steel]

Jul 9, 2011 17:15:07 GMT -5 MaybeNever said:

Why drink sham-pagne when you can cause REAL pain?

Perhaps....some pro-pane? ;D