Comcast: We Won't Slow Down or Disconnect Alleged Pirates
MSO’s Mitigation Steps Under 'Six Strikes' Antipiracy Program Will Nag
Users With In-Browser Alert
By: Todd Spangler
Multichannel News
Feb 28 2013 - 10:01am
http://www.multichannel.com/cable-operators/comcast-we-wont-slow-down-or-disconnect-alleged-pirates/141964
Comcast will persistently nag subscribers suspected of illegally trading
copyrighted material but -- unlike some other ISPs -- the cable operator
says it will not throttle back connection speeds or block access to the
Internet.
This week, after more than a year and a half in the works, Comcast and
four other major U.S. broadband providers -- Time Warner Cable, AT&T,
Verizon Communications and Cablevision Systems -- have begun alerting
subscribers suspected of illegally sharing or downloading copyrighted
content over peer-to-peer networks, under the media industry-led “six
strikes” program.
On Wednesday, Comcast provided details of how it will carry out the
Center for Copyright Information’s Copyright Alert System.
In the first two instances, Comcast's Xfinity Internet users suspected
of copyright infringement will receive “information-focused alerts” via
both in-browser alerts and emails, Susan Jin Davis, Comcast Cable’s vice
president of strategic services for communications and data services,
wrote in a blog post. Alerts 3 and 4 will be more strongly worded
“warning-focused alerts.”
With the fifth suspected offense, Comcast will step up to
“mitigation-focused alerts,” which will include a persistent in-browser
alert that requires a customer to call the Comcast Security Assurance
(CSA) team. Comcast will remove the persistent alert only after a user
reviews information about copyright infringement; if subscribers who
believe they have received alerts file for an independent review of the
charges within 14 days of the fifth alert (which requires paying a $35
fee), Comcast will remove the in-browser alerts until the appeal is
completed.
The “vast majority of our customers will never receive any Copyright
Alerts,” Jin Davis noted. However, “we believe that informed awareness
about copyrights will help our customers make knowledgeable choices
about using copyrighted content online.”
Comcast’s mitigation measures under the CCI program are less draconian
than those being employed by other ISPs participating in the CCI.
Verizon, for example, will slow down suspected pirates’ Internet
connection to a maximum speed of 256 Kilobits per second for two days
after a fifth notice (and for three days after the sixth) until they
take remedial action.
Time Warner Cable, meanwhile, will suspend accused infringers’ account,
starting 14 days after a user acknowledges receiving the fifth-strike
notice, until the user calls TWC and speaks with a customer service
representative to walk through legal sources of media.
Cablevision, for its part, will suspend an Optimum Internet user's
account for 24 hours if they do not file an appeal within 14 days of
receiving a fifth or sixth CAS Alert, according to the MSO's support
website. AT&T's approach is similar to Comcast's, with the telco
requiring customers who receive a fifth CAS notice to "review materials
on an online portal that will educate them on the distribution of
copyrighted content online," the company said in a statement.
Under the CCI’s policies, no subscribers will have their service
automatically terminated under the Copyright Alert System, officials
have emphasized. The program's appeal process is being adminstered by
the American Arbitration Association.
Skeptics question how effective the Copyright Alert System will be in
curbing piracy, partly because it’s limited to monitoring peer-to-peer
applications. But backers of the Center for Copyright Information
believe the program can persuade people to change their ways, by
pointing them to legitimate online content sources such as iTunes,
Netflix or Spotify. That includes parents who are unaware their kids are
pilfering gigabytes of copyrighted material, according to officials.
The alerts “are meant to educate rather than punish, and direct [alleged
infringers] to legal alternatives,” CCI executive director Jill Lesser
wrote in a blog post Monday.
The CCI was established in July 2011 by the Motion Picture Association
of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, music labels,
and TV and movie producers in collaboration with the five Internet
service providers.
The Center for Copyright Information provides more details on the
program on its website. Comcast’s information page about the CAS is at
www.comcast.com/copyrightalerts.
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Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
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University of Houston
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