U.S. 'Six Strikes' Internet Warning System Ready This Year

France made headlines when it introduced its controversial three strikes law in 2009. The law, dubbed HADOPI, placed a significant amount of responsibility on ISPs, requiring that they issue three warnings to subscribers after receiving a complaint from a copyright holder. The first warning would be in the form of an email, while the second would be a certified letter. Continuing offenders may have their internet access suspended for up to a year. The French government has reportedly only had mixed success with HADOPI, but the U.S. is still on track to introduce a similar system very soon.

ArsTechnica reports that the Center for Copyright Information (CCI) plans to introduce a six-stage warning scheme for alleged online copyright infringers. Referred to as 'The Copyright Alert System' the six-stage scheme was supposed to be in place by the end of December of last year. This date was then pushed to July 2012. However, as you may have noticed, we're now well into September and we haven't seen hide nor hair of a six-strike system being introduced. In case you thought this meant the whole thing had been scrapped, CCI head, Jill Lesser, insists that it's still very much on the cards. In fact, it's on schedule for a 2012 launch. Lesser also disputed the use of the word 'strike' with regard to the warnings ISPs will send to users. Lesser highlighted the fact that 'strike' has punitive connotations and that this new program is aimed at educating internet users as opposed to punishing them. For this reason, CCI thinks of it more as an educational tool than a strikes program.

So how will the whole thing work? The first alert users will get is an email advising them that their account may have been misused or involved in copyright infringement. This alert will guide users toward material to help them check the security of their network as well as information on legal sources of music and TV. The second alert is similar to the first but will "underscore the educational message." If infringement persists, a third online alert will be sent. Appearing similar to the first two, this alert will differ in that it will have a click-through box that will force users to acknowledge receipt of the warning. The fourth warning will also come via email and feature the same 'acknowledgement of receipt' requirement. Alert number five brings the chance of some 'Mitigation Measures.' These may include temporary reductions of internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter, or reviews and responds to some educational information about copyright. Alert number six brings yet more 'Mitigation Measures,' and Lesser says ISPs will make the decision about cutting off internet access.

Lesser didn't say exactly when we can expect this new system, which was agreed upon by CCI, major U.S. ISPs and music and film representatives, but she's confident it will be ready before the end of 2012. With Mitigation Measures decided by the ISPs, we'll have to wait for their policies to be published before we know the answers to questions relating to throttling and the possible disconnection of internet service. We'll keep you posted.

Further Reading

ArsTechnica

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  • lahawzel
    Soon, pirates begin the trivial task of using proxies and VPNs, and this six-strike system will fail spectacularly at catching prolific infringers, leaving only inexperienced users who Googled "free music download" or "free <insert sport event> stream" to be caught by the mess.

    Meanwhile, college students across the nation continue to receive mail from the RIAA stating "We know. Pay us $750 per song via credit card or we will sue you."

    USA! USA! USA!

    :pt1cable:
    Reply
  • igot1forya
    Who's up for a private Darknet? Anyone?
    Reply
  • DroKing
    This is sickening.
    Reply
  • joemcjoe
    igot1foryaWho's up for a private Darknet? Anyone?sure why not
    Reply
  • nullifier
    LaHawzelSoon, pirates begin the trivial task of using proxies and VPNs, and this six-strike system will fail spectacularly at catching prolific infringers, leaving only inexperienced users who Googled "free music download" or "free stream" to be caught by the mess. Meanwhile, college students across the nation continue to receive mail from the RIAA stating "We know. Pay us $750 per song via credit card or we will sue you."USA! USA! USA!
    ^ This, onion routing and VPNs have and will defeat this system miserably. This will only succeed to fry the small fish in the pirate sea.

    I second the chant: USA! USA! USA!
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    This will not hold up to a legal challenge and will result in an epic fail. Waste of time and energy. Next.
    Reply
  • ryu750
    this is funny...LaHawzel hit it, right on the head.
    Reply
  • thecolorblue
    USA! USA! USA!
    Reply
  • KelvinTy
    They will need "solid" proof of you pirating which already means invading your privacy with traffic analyzing software(s). But wait, what if you use outgoing encryption utilities? If they attempt to break it, wouldn't it be a lot more concerning? Conspiracy theory, I call...
    Reply
  • jellico
    igot1foryaWho's up for a private Darknet? Anyone?Hell, you don't even need private darknet to defeat this. A proxy/anonymizer or a public darknet will do just fine. Off the top of my head:

    http://www.freenetproject.org
    http://www.hidemyass.com
    Reply