According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has just announced that it plans to change tactics when it comes to combating piracy. Previously, the RIAA policy on illegal downloads was to file mass lawsuits against individuals actively using various peer-to-peer services. This policy created bad press for the RIAA because many children and/or deceased individuals were mistakenly contacted as a result of the over 35,000 proceedings conducted at the request of the RIAA.
Currently, a transformation is under way where the
RIAA will work closely with Internet Service Providers (ISPs), not yet named, in a new attempt
to eliminate piracy by targeting users who are illegally uploading music. They
will model this plan after the approach previously adopted in the U.K. where an
ISP will send several "warning" emails to a costumer that they
suspect is illegally uploading music in an attempt to get that individual to
stop. If the emails fail to resolve the illegal behavior, then the ISP may introduce
slower broadband speeds and/or may cut off internet access to that specific
individual. Only time will tell if this new tactic will be more effective
at alleviating piracy.
Regardless, it appears that the days of mass litigation are over.
For more information, please visit the website of the Wall Street Journal
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