Andre Yoskowitz
12 Sep 2012 23:11
Despite a similar system being a complete failure in France, the United States is on the path to introducing a 'six strikes' program for alleged pirates.
Center for Copyright Information (CCI) boss Jill Lesser says the program is slated to be launched by the end of the year, following an almost 12 month delay. The CCI has worked with major ISPs and the media companies to come up with the system which progressively sends out warnings to alleged online pirates. Eventually the warnings will cease and will lead to penalties.
Lesser says the system will cover 75 percent of all American Internet users when deployed.
The exec also says the system will be more of an educational program: "It is not a six strikes program. This is an educational program; there are a series of educational alerts that will be sent out to subscribers."
Through this education, Lesser hopes pirates will be steered towards legal content, which is readily becoming easier to access.
If you reach the fifth or sixth strike, rightsholders will have the option to bring lawsuits, and ISPs could kick you from their service, although there is little financial incentive for them to do so.