Should Internet Users Be Scared of This New Program?

U.S. Internet providers are set to adopt a new warning scheme for alleged online copyright infringers by the end of the year. The six-stage program, which starts with warnings and eventually results in penalties, was conceived last year by the Center for Copyright Information, major ISPs across the country, and representatives from recording and film industries. The program, known formally as the Copyright Alert System, hopes to cover 75 percent of all American Internet users, according to Ars Technica.

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Originally slated to come into action by the end of last December, it missed a second deadline this July. However, the chief of CCI, Jill Lesser, is certain they are still on track for a 2012 launch. The group issued a Memorandum of Understanding last July that stressed the program was intended as a “learning experience” that would mainly strive to steer Internet users toward legal content.

“It is not a six strikes program,” Lesser told Ars Technica. “This is an educational program; there are a series of educational alerts that will be sent out to subscribers.”

Among the stages the system is expected to go through are increasing warning levels, requiring users to acknowledge receipt of warnings, and possibly reducing their Internet speed. If a user reached the fifth or sixth stage, they would be forced to watch a 10-minute educational video. While the system may eventually lead up to cutting an infringer’s Internet access, Lesser said that decision would rest with the Internet provider, such as Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA).

“Each of the ISPs is going to have their own mitigation measure,” she said. “It will always happen after the user has been given an opportunity to conduct an independent review. The ISP has discretion what the mitigation measure is.”

However, with no specific details forthcoming yet, there are fears that the program could see some acceptance hiccups. “The delays are another indication that this is an expensive program that is getting passed to ISPs, and then on to the public,” Parker Higgins, an activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Ars Technica. “It’s a cost that we’re skeptical that the American people should bear.”

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