AfterDawn: Tech news

AT&T: We will terminate your account if you keep pirating

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Sep 2013 2:03 User comments (22)

AT&T: We will terminate your account if you keep pirating AT&T, one of the ISPs that participates in the Copyright Alert System and its "six-strikes" system for copyright infringers, will in some cases terminate your account entirely if you are a repeat offender.
The CAS' main goal is to educate Internet users about copyright, whilst showing off legal alternatives.

Initial alerts will tell customers that their Internet is being used for unauthorized downloads, and subsequent alerts could range from more emails to mandatory educational courses online or even throttling of your speed.

AT&T, surprisingly, is taking it a step further telling alleged copyright infringers that an account termination is a possibility.

Here is the full CAS letter sent by AT&T (via TorrentFreak):



Copyright Infringement Alert

Dear (Primary Account Holder),

We are sending you this alert as part of our participation in the Copyright Alert Program -- an industry-wide initiative intended to help users understand their rights and responsibilities in the distribution of copyrighted content online.

Digital content owners routinely monitor file-sharing networks to determine if copyrighted movies and music are being distributed illegally over the Internet. Through the Copyright Alert System, we've recently received a notice from a movie studio, record company, television studio or other company that owns copyrighted material that your AT&T Internet account was used in connection with possible infringement of their copyright protected materials.

Your account was identified by its IP address. However, in keeping with the AT&T Privacy Policy, we have not released your name or personal information, and we will not do so except as required by a lawful request for records. But at the request of the content owner, we are sending this alert -- which applies to all users of your account -- so that the issue may be resolved without further action.

A copy of the original notice can be found at att.com/copyright-infringement, but summary information is available at the end of this email.

What is Copyright Infringement?

Copyright protection gives creators of original intellectual property (such as music, movies, videos, books, artwork, and images) the exclusive right to that work -- including control over reproduction, distribution, adaptation, performance, or financial benefit. If you or any other user(s) of your account copy, reproduce, adapt, or distribute copyrighted material without authorization, you are infringing those rights.

Using your Internet service to infringe copyrights is illegal and a violation of the AT&T Internet Terms of Service (TOS) and Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), which apply to all users of your account, and could result in mitigation measures including limitation of Internet access or even suspension or termination.*



How Does this Affect Me?

Through the Copyright Alert Program, users are given an opportunity to understand and change behavior that may be resulting in Copyright Alerts. However, if they receive multiple Copyright Alerts, they may encounter corrective action -- or mitigation measures -- which may limit or inhibit Internet access.

No action will be taken at this point and we'll let you know when mitigation measures are pending, should any be necessary. At that point, if you wish, you may request an Independent Review which provides an opportunity to challenge this or any other Copyright Alert before any mitigation measure is implemented. (Be sure to preserve any records or information that could be used to show that the activity was non-infringing.)

Other Helpful Information

It is possible that the infringement notice is the result of activity through a peer-to-peer (P2P) program that may be on your computer. These programs can pose issues, so it is important for you to understand what they are and the risks of using them.

You can find information on P2P programs and how to remove them, through the Center for Copyright Information at www.copyrightinformation.org

There are many ways to legally enjoy protected television programs, movies, and music. You can find information on these methods at www.copyrightinformation.org/a-better-way-to-find-movies-tv-music/

What Do I Need to Do?

• Please visit att.com/copyright-infringement to learn more about copyrights, our policies, and the Copyright Alert System.
• Visit the Center for Copyright Information website at copyrightinformation.org for additional information on the industry-wide Copyright Alert Program, as well as information on Peer-to-Peer programs, and more.
• Check to make sure that the activity of all users of your account is in compliance with copyright laws, the AT&T Internet Terms of Service, and Acceptable Use Policy.



Taking the above action should help you to resolve the issue.

Sincerely,
Your AT&T Internet Service Customer Care Team

*Pursuant to Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, AT&T's policy is to terminate services to repeat infringers under appropriate circumstances.

Important Note: This email contains links to various websites. You may copy and paste the URL(s) into your browser rather than clicking directly on the link.
Copyright Notice

–Summary–
For a copy of the original notice, please go to att.com/copyright-infringement

Notice ID: XXXXXX
Content Owner: MPAA Search and Notify
Contact: Administrator
NA
(+1) 818-XXX-XXXX
XXXXXX@mpaa.org
Content Title: EXPENDABLES 2, THE
File Name: The.Expendables.2.2012.iNTERNAL.720p.BluRay.x264-AVSHD [PublicHD]
IP Address: XXXXXX
Port: 39815
File Type: P2P
Timestamp: XXXXXX

Tags: piracy AT&T
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22 user comments

115.9.2013 14:44

The problem with this is they really do not know if the download completed and if the file in question is real compared to the name. I suppose they could be using packet inspection to determine the file information but do they know for a fact that the file actually downloaded? Was it the full movie or a trailer?

I guess if you are going to pirate you need to be smart about it and use some sort of proxy for your torrents.

215.9.2013 15:47

I just take the at&t sim card and use wi-fi to download anything I want.

315.9.2013 15:50

Originally posted by Mrguss:
I just take the at&t sim card and use wi-fi to download anything I want.
Hmm Didn't realize AT&T uVerse/DSL modems had sim cards.

415.9.2013 15:55

Originally posted by bobiroc:
Originally posted by Mrguss:
I just take the at&t sim card and use wi-fi to download anything I want.
Hmm Didn't realize AT&T uVerse/DSL modems had sim cards.
I only use smartphones from them.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 15 Sep 2013 @ 4:00

515.9.2013 15:57

Originally posted by Mrguss:
Originally posted by bobiroc:
Originally posted by Mrguss:
I just take the at&t sim card and use wi-fi to download anything I want.
Hmm Didn't realize AT&T uVerse/DSL modems had sim cards.
I only use smartphones from them.
Well this article was referring to AT&T as an ISP meaning their DSL or uVerse service.

615.9.2013 16:03

My best bet is that they over charge, right!
I only pay $19.99 a month using Cox (2yrs. deal); on top of that I use TPB or Tor Browser (always update) and no problem here.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 15 Sep 2013 @ 4:16

716.9.2013 12:45

I don't understand why AT&T feels the need to take on the role of piracy cop.

I ditched AT&T wireless almost 4 years ago, and I ditched their DSL last year. Best moves I ever made. Their sub-par technology (in my area at least) and ridiculous policies repeatedly demonstrate that they are less interested in servicing the customer than controlling the customer.

Good riddance.

816.9.2013 12:49

Originally posted by SoTired:
I don't understand why AT&T feels the need to take on the role of piracy cop.

I ditched AT&T wireless almost 4 years ago, and I ditched their DSL last year. Best moves I ever made. Their sub-par technology (in my area at least) and ridiculous policies repeatedly demonstrate that they are less interested in servicing the customer than controlling the customer.

Good riddance.
This is pretty much being mandated by the government you know... I am pretty certain all ISPs are going to be required to use this method of warning pirates soon if they do not have to already.

916.9.2013 12:50

What good really is a tor browser or TPB browser? Once you connect to the peer list, you are wide open, unless you are routing your traffic elsewhere.

1016.9.2013 13:01

Originally posted by doowop72:
What good really is a tor browser or TPB browser? Once you connect to the peer list, you are wide open, unless you are routing your traffic elsewhere.
There are proxies/encryption you can add to your torrent programs that will mask what is being downloaded. The ISP will see data is coming in but not what the data is.

But you did not hear that from me ;)

1116.9.2013 13:48

You CAN route all your traffic through Tor (including peers), at least with Vuze and uTorrent, but that's also an abuse of the Tor network. It's also impractically slow.

1216.9.2013 14:44

Oh boy, ATT rates will be raised to pay for the monitoring costs. I will be shopping around soon. ATT will be losing more customers by pricing them out of the market than by scaring them away.

1316.9.2013 14:57

Originally posted by bobiroc:
Originally posted by SoTired:
I don't understand why AT&T feels the need to take on the role of piracy cop.

I ditched AT&T wireless almost 4 years ago, and I ditched their DSL last year. Best moves I ever made. Their sub-par technology (in my area at least) and ridiculous policies repeatedly demonstrate that they are less interested in servicing the customer than controlling the customer.

Good riddance.
This is pretty much being mandated by the government you know... I am pretty certain all ISPs are going to be required to use this method of warning pirates soon if they do not have to already.
Some governments in Europe have mandated this stuff, but not in the US. This is just AT&T being meddlesome.

1416.9.2013 16:39

Heres what I dont understand. usually what I download are TV shows. I missed it tuesday night, so i download it thursday and watch it friday. Then usually I delete it. These shows are shown for free on TV. FREE

How is it a crime that Im downloading something free? Whats the difference? I think its a crime to offer something free to watch, then say we have to pay a streaming service to re-watch it. I dont do DVRs anymore, it seems the HDDs are always crashing every year or so in those things plus you pay rent on them monthly.

this will come back and bite them in the ass. how are you going to keep customers if you ban them?

1516.9.2013 17:04

Well, they DO have an argument. Essentially, most downloaded shows do not include the associated ads from a given broadcast. Furthermore, the network has no way to prove # of eyeballs that see those ads, even if they are not removed (which almost never happens, anyway). They really are seeing a direct harm to their bottom line.

Now, don't get me wrong! I'm an inveterate pirate, myself, of all sorts of entertainment media, from video games to movies; I'm definitely not trying to say I'm better than you in any way. But don't be dishonest with yourself, either; it really *IS* wrong, although it does not happen to be "stealing". In fact, it's the *civil crime* of "intellectual property violation".

Both sides of this issue have several less-than-honest points they love to belabor =/ ...

1616.9.2013 18:15

Originally posted by Mrguss:
I just take the at&t sim card and use wi-fi to download anything I want.
This is most likely applicable to HOME INTERNET.

And it's understandable so no one should bitch! At least they give a heads up when account is in serious and dire question.

1716.9.2013 18:17

Originally posted by Mrguss:
My best bet is that they over charge, right!
I only pay $19.99 a month using Cox (2yrs. deal); on top of that I use TPB or Tor Browser (always update) and no problem here.
Yet another leech that sincerely justifies their rampant piracy.

1817.9.2013 13:37

If you get caught pirating 6 TIMES, there might be something wrong with you. Then again, if you have any choice in ISP at all and you choose AT&T DSL, there is certainly something wrong with you.

1917.9.2013 14:40

Originally posted by hearme0:
Originally posted by Mrguss:
My best bet is that they over charge, right!
I only pay $19.99 a month using Cox (2yrs. deal); on top of that I use TPB or Tor Browser (always update) and no problem here.
Yet another leech that sincerely justifies their rampant piracy.

Using TPB browser is not, of itself, any indication of piracy. It's merely a slightly-modified version of the Tor Browser's implementation of Firefox.

I also saw no "justification" there, just a flat statement of the software (s)he uses - lol...
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 17 Sep 2013 @ 3:28

2017.9.2013 14:41

Originally posted by hearme0:
Originally posted by Mrguss:
My best bet is that they over charge, right!
I only pay $19.99 a month using Cox (2yrs. deal); on top of that I use TPB or Tor Browser (always update) and no problem here.
Yet another leech that sincerely justifies their rampant piracy.
I don't cheering for AT&T, Verizon, Goldman Sachs, BofA or any NYSE corporations.
I'm no body wage-slave for profits.

Beside: Anybody is guilty, 'til it is proof guilty. That is the law.

Now if I tell you the real truth: Rich people brake the law a lot more often that poor people and only the poor people go to jail or prison; 'cos they can't afford to buy the law, like the rich people always do.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 18 Sep 2013 @ 3:37

2117.9.2013 17:52

Originally posted by KillerBug:
If you get caught pirating 6 TIMES, there might be something wrong with you. Then again, if you have any choice in ISP at all and you choose AT&T DSL, there is certainly something wrong with you.
I can choose between AT&T DSL or Comcast, so guess there is something wrong with me since I am on AT&T. When I was on Comcast my service would go out every time a black cloud appeared in the sky. AT&T DSL is slower, but I can count on the fingers of one hand in the past 3 years the times that the connection has went down, and still have fingers left over.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 17 Sep 2013 @ 5:55

2218.9.2013 10:01

Originally posted by SoTired:
I don't understand why AT&T feels the need to take on the role of piracy cop.
I'd venture to say that they benefit from dropping pirates. In general, it's the pirates whom consume the massive amounts of bandwidth.

In maximizing profits, the providers would prefer dropping bandwidth hogs instead of investing in upgrading their infrastructure.


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