The Copyright Alert System Will Hurt You

On Monday, February 25th, 2013, the "Copyright Alert System" (CAS) was quietly implemented by five Internet Service Providers (ISPs):  AT&T, Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner and Verizon.  Those five ISPs provide internet service to 75% of Americans.  A trade association called "Center for Copyright Information" (CCI) is coordinating the system on behalf of large content providers like the Recording Industry of America and the Motion Picture Association of America.

I suspect everyone who uses the above mentioned ISPs will soon get an innocuous looking letter indicating their Terms of Service have changed.  Buried somewhere in the small print of that document may be a description of the new CAS.  It is an arbitrary system that allows content providers and your ISP to control your access to the internet.  

Large content providers have hired "thug" companies to monitor public use of the web.  If a surveillance company believes you are illegally downloading copyrighted material, they flag your IP (Internet Protocol) address and forward it to your ISP.  Content providers and ISPs have developed a "six strike rule."  Each time a subscriber is flagged, they receive a penalty.  It could start with a warning from your ISP.  Additional flags might cause your ISP to slow down your internet speed or temporarily suspend your service.  Finally, after five or six flags, they can accuse you of repeated copyright infringement and may terminate your internet service entirely.

Someone might say, "Hey, this doesn't apply to me.  I don't illegally download music or movies.  What have I got to worry about?"  Well...plenty.  Surveillance companies can't actually tell what you are downloading.  They make an educated guess.  Monitoring companies use software programs that determine the likelihood that your downloads are illegal.  And, according to the website Daily Dot,  they get it wrong a lot of the time.
 
Perhaps, you are downloading a manual for your furnace or a video of your grandchildren posted to a cloud site.  You could be downloading files under the "fair use" exemption in copyright law.  You might have digitized your LP music library and are downloading your own legal copies from an online storage site.  You could be a small business that uploads and downloads large files to and from clients.  You might operate or use a public wi-fi system like those commonly found in small coffee shops or libraries.  It doesn't matter.  Content providers and your ISP don't have to legally prove you're engaging in illegal activity to deny you internet service.   

Do you have any recourse once you're flagged?  Yes, according to the CCI website.  You pay a $35 fee to appeal to what the CCI calls "an independent review board" (hired by content providers) where you must prove your internet activity is legal.  Surely, this is not what Congress intended when they passed the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in 1998. 

How has the CCI convinced ISPs to penalize their own subscribers?  The CCI has taken the position that if ISPs do not implement the "Copyright Alert System," ISPs lose their "safe harbor" protection under the DMCA.  In other words, CCI claims if ISPs do not have a termination policy for repeat copyright offenders, they lose their protection from prosecution under the law.  

What can you do about it?  First, your email attachments are probably safe.  Surveillance companies that work for content providers are not monitoring email traffic.  But, here are some steps you can take to guard your internet privacy:  If you have a wireless network in your home, password protect it so others cannot use it for illegal purposes.  Assume that any bit torrent type of data transfer will be monitored.  Do not trust that proxy servers or switch proxy settings on your browser will protect your internet privacy.  To be completely safe, do what tech savvy Chinese and Iranians do to circumvent their national firewalls:  Get a VPN.  Google the search string "What is a VPN" and learn about virtual private networks.  Using a VPN is easy, inexpensive, protects your privacy and won't slow your internet speed.  Protect yourself from the surveillance monitoring and false accusations from your ISP.  Get a VPN!