The RIAA announced the shift in its strategy last December: Instead of targeting individual file sharers with lawsuits, as it had done in the past, the organization would work with ISPs to find suspected offenders and — after a series of warnings — potentially cut off their Internet access altogether. The RIAA initially said “major ISPs” would participate, revealing neither specific companies nor a firm timeframe for the program’s launch.
A string of media reports and blog postings today fueled speculation about participation by AT&T, Cox Communications, and Comcast. Much of the information cited, however, came from unnamed sources and contained conflicting information. I spoke with representatives from each of the three companies to sort it all out.
RIAA’s Original Plan
The RIAA’s original announcement outlined the following procedure:
• The RIAA contacts an ISP after identifying a suspected illegal file sharer on its network.
• The ISP then forwards a formal warning on to the customer.
• If the activity doesn’t stop, the ISP sends one or two more warnings.
• If the activity still doesn’t stop, the ISP may slow down the customer’s access, or ultimately discontinue it.
Cox Communications
“Since the time we implemented our DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notification process, we’ve sent hundreds of thousands of warnings to customers but have only had to terminate the accounts of a tiny fraction of them,” says Cox’s David Deliman.
Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of cases have resulted in account termination, Deliman says. What’s not clear is what determines whether an account will be terminated, and whether that judgment comes from Cox or from the RIAA. My request for that information was not answered prior to our publishing deadline.
AT&T
“This trial is about customer education and deterrence,” AT&T’s Mike Balmoris explains. “We do not assume or make any accusations of wrongdoing by the customer.”
Aside from stating that the trial was not a “three strikes” plan, as some media outlets had reported, Balmoris would not directly confirm nor deny whether any customer accounts had been or could potentially be terminated as part of the process. Rather, he simply stated that the company had found the majority of customers stopped the behavior on their own after receiving the notices.
Comcast
“Comcast, like other major ISPs, forwards notices of alleged infringement that we receive from music, movie, videogame, and other content owners to our customers. This is the same process we’ve had in place for years,” says Comcast’s Charlie Douglas.
“While we have always supported copyright holders in their efforts to reduce piracy under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and continue to do so, we have no plans to test a so-called ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’ policy,” he adds.
You can read more about the RIAA’s initial plan and some of its pros and cons here.
Connect with JR Raphael on Twitter (@jr_raphael) or via his Web site, jrstart.com.