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Internet providers' latest scheme to fight piracy delayed until next year

Internet providers' latest scheme to fight piracy delayed until next year

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The Copyright Alert System that was due to be implemented by ISPs such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon has been delayed. AT&T was expected to activate the system on November 28th, but a notice from the Center for Copyright Information indicates that the scheme has been pushed back to "the early part of 2013." The organization says that the holdup is due to Hurricane Sandy, but TorrentFreak believes the group has had difficulties bringing all its partners onboard bodies that include the major ISPs and the American Arbitration Association.

When the CAS does go live, ISPs will take different actions if a user receives five to six copyright infringement warnings. Leaked internal documents from AT&T show that the company plans to block access to popular websites on the internet until customers complete an online copyright awareness course. Time Warner Cable will also restrict access to websites should users be flagged, while Verizon intends to temporarily throttle broadband speeds for two to three days. Comcast and Cablevision, meanwhile, have yet to comment on their plans. The measures that the companies are taking look to be short term solutions, however: there are currently no plans for permanent disconnection even if users don't change their habits.