The Softer Side of Piracy Enforcement
According to a story by AP writer Peter Svensson, AT&T, Inc. (ATT) will begin forwarding notices of illegal trafficking in pirated music to customers whose IP address has been identified by the RIAA. This approach replaces the notorious lawsuits brought by the RIAA against individuals involved with illegal file sharing.
As an attorney who represents artists who fear a loss of their profession to illegal downloading, as well as a writer, my sympathies are decidedly with the copyright holders. So it may be surprising that I’m very pleased with the quite moderate approach reportedly taken by AT&T.
According to the article, AT&T will forward the warnings, but it will not employ a three-strikes policy of terminating accounts for those individuals who have received three notices. Jim Cicconi believes that the notices are sufficient to accomplish much of the RIAA’s goals. According to AP, “AT&T will only forward the notice and won't threaten its customers with suspension of service or any other sanction. If copyright holders want to go further, it's up to them to bring court orders.” Cicconi added, "it seems to engender a good response from customers, and we've seen a fairly dramatic drop-off in file-sharing activity once people receive a notice, so we feel this works."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been critical of the RIAA, both because of its now abandoned litigation strategy and its agreement with ISPs to drop repeat offenders. But the effectiveness of iTunes and Amazon’s downloads are a direct result of slowing the growth of free, on-demand unauthorized music distribution. At some point, the public has become convinced that it isn’t worth the savings of $.99 to risk thousands of dollars in copyright damages.
The suggestion that the ISPs are unable to incorporate the three-strikes rules into their terms of service agreements is wholly misplaced. Most already require users abide by a host of rules to protect from unauthorized conduct.
So this is why I am impressed by AT&T’s approach. While doing less than it can, it is taking action to educate its customers and reduce illegal downloading without adding to the hysteria around copyright policy. Parents will have the ability to learn about their children’s use and misuse of the home computer; unauthorized activity on open networks can be curtailed; and the relatively few aggressive pirates can be identified.
As has often been the case with copyright throughout history, most enforcement comes from establishing acceptable norms of behavior and educating the public. As technology changes and new norms develop, the expectations shift. AT&T’s approach will serve as a good example of how to build these norms and improve satisfaction for both the customer and the copyright holders.
