Copyright Alert System
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Copyright Alert System (CAS) was a voluntary industry effort to educate and penalize internet users who engage in the unauthorized and unlawful distribution of copyrighted works via peer-to-peer file sharing services. The program was operated by the Center for Copyright Information, a consortium consisting of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the internet service providers AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon.[1]
The CAS used a graduated response system (also known as the "six strikes program"), in which participating ISPs would send warnings notifying subscribers of alleged copyright infringement, as reported by a monitoring service working on behalf of participating copyright owners.[2][3] The system specified a six-step progression, from advice messages, to warnings that must be acknowledged by the user. After a fifth warning, ISPs were allowed to implement "mitigation measures", which could include penalties such as bandwidth throttling or preventing web access until customers "discuss the matter" with their ISP.[4][5]
The CAS framework was established on July 7, 2011, after three years in the making.[2] After multiple delays, ISPs began implementing it in late February 2013.[6][7]
Due to the program not substantially decreasing piracy, the CAS discontinued the program on January 30, 2017.[8][9]