Downloading movies and music off of torrent sites is illegal. There are millions of people who do it every day, and never got caught so they keep going right? Well, the law changed to enforce and to protect online copyright. A controversial strategy to combat Internet piracy took effect last Monday, meaning subscribers who illegally share movies or songs could be punished by losing Web access or having their broadband speeds slowed to a crawl.
Things You Need To Know About The New Law Against Internet Piracy: The new “Copyright Alert System,” or “six strikes” system, is the result of a partnership between major Internet service providers and the entertainment industry to deter theft of copyrighted material online. The film and recording industries say online piracy costs them billions of dollars in lost revenue each year.
Under the new system, Internet subscribers accused of online piracy will receive a series of alerts. Critics have called the system “six strikes” because the sixth copyright violation is expected to lead to punishment from the Internet providers.
The details of each Internet provider’s alert system are still unknown, but each one is expected to be slightly different. Some alleged copyright violators could have their Internet speeds slowed to dial-up speeds for two to three days. While some other Internet providers will temporarily suspend Internet service to alleged copyright violators until they call a customer service representative and agree to stop pirating copyrighted material.
The ‘Six Strikes’ system is meant to educate rather than punish.To direct the pirates to legal alternatives and allow them to seek an independent review if they believe they are innocent. hmmm…
Alleged copyright violators must pay $35 to have an arbitrator review whether they are guilty of Internet piracy. If the arbitrator rules in their favor, their money is refunded and their Internet speeds go untouched.
Some industry observers have questioned whether the alert system will be effective. Some note that Internet users who frequently engage in illegal file-sharing often use private networks or proxy services to disguise the location of their computers. Others worry that small businesses that provide Wi-Fi access could be accused of copyright violations if their customers engaged in illegal file-sharing on their networks.
While you may never get caught – there is always the chance you will.
What happen if you get caught?
Fines for Copyright Infringement can range up to 250-thousand dollars and you could spend five years in prison. Hmmm, my guess prisons are already overcrowded with ‘real criminals’ so where governments will put millions of millions of people who download illegally music and movies?
Until those methods catch on, the Pirate Bay and other BitTorrent sites will continue their arms race against law enforcement.
Top countries for unauthorised music downloads:
1. USA: 96.68 million downloads
2. UK: 43.26 million downloads
3. Italy: 33.15 million downloads
4. Canada: 23.95 million downloads
5. Brazil: 19.72 million downloads
6. Australia: 19.23 million downloads
* Statistics: Digital Music Index
