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.


What's going on?
Record labels, movie studios, and ISPs have joined forces for an
industry-led warning system that will notify users when they are
suspected of illegally downloading music, TV shows, or movies.

I thought this was already happening. Isn't that how all those people got sued?
Yes, but in 2008 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) abandoned its practice of suing individuals
for online piracy in favor of working with Internet service providers
to track down offenders. Since then, ISPs have issued warnings on their
own terms, but this agreement creates one system that major ISPs will
follow.

How exactly does my ISP know what I'm downloading?
Your ISP is not keeping tabs on your Internet activity. If you
distribute or download a file over a P2P network, however—from the
latest episode of Game of Thrones to Transformers 3—that
file includes an IP address associated with your account. Available
technology can identify pirated content on these networks, and when it's
found, the content holder will contact the ISP with the IP address.

Then what happens?
Your ISP will associate that IP address with the account on their network.

Great, so my ISP is handing over my information to record labels and movie studios?
The group said it will "never provide any personally identifiable
information to copyright holders" unless required to do so via a
subpoena or court order. It will instead start the process of notifying
you that suspicious activity has been reported on your account.

How will my ISP notify me?
After the ISP receives the complaint and identifies you via IP address,
it will send an online alert, likely via email, with a warning that your
account might have been used for downloading illegal content. The
message will include educational resources for how not to be a pirate.

What if I just delete the email?
If you read it and stop illegal downloading, you're good. But if you
read it, delete, and continue downloading, there are more alerts in your
future. These alerts are being referred to as the "six strikes" plan
because ISPs will warn you at least five or six times before they take
any action. The second alert will look much like the first, but alerts
three and four will require you to acknowledge that you've received the
message, probably through a click-thru pop-up notice.

Do I want to know what alerts five and six entail?
If you continue to blow off these warnings, ISPs might turn to
"Mitigation Measures," which could include temporary reductions of
Internet speeds or redirection to a landing page until you contact your
ISP to discuss the matter. ISPs have the option not to implement these
measures, however.

If I'm still ignoring them, will they shut down my account?
The group said this alert system "does not, in any circumstance, require
the ISP to terminate an Internet subscriber's account." They point out,
however, that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act already requires
ISPs to have a termination policy in effect if they want to take
advantage of the law's "safe harbor" clauses. That way, if a copyright
holder sues you for illegal downloading, the ISP can say it took
measures to stop the activity and cannot be held liable for your
activity.

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.

How is this like the "three strikes" law in Europe?
Three strikes? No. Six strikes? Maybe. The group claims the alert system
is not similar to laws that cut off users' Internet service after three
piracy incidents. Why? "This creates no new laws or formal legal
procedures and it does not require account suspension or termination,"
the coalition said.

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.

A partnership announced today
between big entertainment companies and some of the nation's largest
Internet service providers will not mean the end of online piracy. To be
sure, the parties involved know this.


Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, helped
broker the deal between ISPs and big entertainment companies. Cuomo said
a partnership was good for the state and country.
(Credit:
New York State Executive Chamber )




The most savvy tech users and dedicated file sharers will continue to
pirate content and perhaps there isn't any way to stop them. But the
hope of Hollywood film studios and the four largest record companies is
that the participating ISPs, which include Comcast, Cablevision,
Verizon, and Time Warner Cable, can help discourage mainstream Internet
users from sharing content illegally over the Web.

The participating ISPs have agreed to start cracking down on accused
content pirates starting sometime next year. The program will begin with
warnings to those accused by content creators of copyright
infringement. Those who refuse to quit risk losing access to the Web
until they do.

The thinking is that maybe the ISPs can help tip the scales in favor of
legal services. Maybe a $7.99-a-month Netflix subscription or a 99-cent
charge for an iTunes' song becomes more attractive if the cost of piracy
is a slower Web connection or the complete loss of Web access. But the ISPs came to this agreement, first reported by CNET last month, kicking and screaming.

For the past three years, many of the big ISPs have declined to adopt
"graduated response" programs. That's the term coined by big media to
describe when ISPs ratchet up pressure on people suspected of acquiring
intellectual property without paying for it.

The respective trade groups for the top music and film companies, the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture
Association of America, naturally wanted the toughest penalties they
could get. Originally they had asked that the ISPs adopt a
"three-strikes" plan, which would would mean a user received three
warnings from a bandwidth provider before service was suspended or
terminated. The ISPs said no way.
[color:6b96=#900]
(The ISPs') first loyalty should be to their subscribers. Not Hollywood."

--Corynne McSherry, EFF attorney

In the end, the ISPs held their noses and began looking for ways to
cover themselves against PR hits. Instead of three strikes, the ISPs
opted for six strikes. They also padded the program with so-called
educational aspects, likely tossed in to help distract from the more
controversial issues, such as suspending someone's Internet access.
Still, there's no way to cover up the fact that participating ISPs have
agreed to punish customers on behalf of content creators.

Those ISPs that have partnered with the music and film sectors have the
option of issuing six warnings to a subscriber before moving to the
"mitigation" stage. Way down in the press release announcing the
agreement is the bit about how the ISPs will hobble the connection
speeds of those accused of multiple offenses or completely cut off their
Web connection until they stop infringing intellectual property.

The ISPs dread spooking subscribers, or to appear to be spying on them.
It's possible the agreement would have never been completed had U.S.
President Barack Obama and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who got involved
in the negotiations as early as 2007, not pressured both sides to cut a
deal.

Cuomo, who was then New York's attorney general, got involved because he
believed that it was good for the state for two of the leading
industries to get along and help each other, Steve Cohen, Cuomo's chief
of staff, told CNET today. Up until that point, the film and music
sectors were in attack mode, accusing bandwidth providers of profiting
from piracy. Cuomo recognized that a deal that benefited both sides
could be reached without lawsuits or any serious government
intervention, Cohen said.




Cuomo, like Obama, argues that piracy robs U.S. citizens of jobs and the nation's companies of revenue.


But not everyone believes that file sharing has hurt those who create
content. Corynne McSherry, an attorney and director of intellectual
property issues for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that
advocates for Internet users and tech companies, notes that scores of
musicians have adapted to digital technology and are doing fine.

She argues that the new agreement creates more problems than it solves.
Among her criticisms of the graduated response process are that
someone's Internet access can be cut off without any judicial review.
She noted that the ISPs and entertainment companies have said they will
create an independent review process for those who claim to be wrongly
accused. McSherry, however, is skeptical that anyone hired by those
groups will be conflict-free. Among McSherry's greatest fears is that this is only the first step. She
sees the potential, now that big media firms have the ability to push
ISPs into copyright enforcement, that they will continue to pressure
them to keep ratcheting up the penalties against suspected file sharers.

Is McSherry sympathetic to the ISPs who have faced government pressure to do more on antipiracy? Not so much.
"I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that the ISPs are under
tremendous pressure and that's why they're knuckling under," McSherry
said. "But their first loyalty should be to their subscribers. Not
Hollywood.

"At the end of the day," McSherry said, "this is unlikely to accomplish
much. All it will do is intimidate a lot of lawful users. Are we going
to see the end of online infringement? I doubt that very much. It will
be more valuable for the White House, ISPs and Hollywood if they found
better ways to getting artists paid instead of focusing on punishment."