Free for a Fee

For one-and-a-half years now, we’ve been following the play-by-play of the “six strikes” plan set to hit the majority of American Internet users sometime this year.The Copyright Alert System (CAS), as it’s formally known, is now set to come online this year. It’s been orchestrated by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and major American ISPs, which are collected under an umbrella organization called the Center for Copyright Information (CCI).

Once in place, the CAS monitors Internet usage looking for traffic of unauthorized downloads. Then, users will be “educated” about legal alternatives. These individuals will have to acknowledge those warnings, and over time, they may have their Internet access throttled or may have legal charges brought.