I’ve made reference in previous blog posts about the Copyright Alert System (CAS), which is also known popularly as the “six-strikes” measure. If you want to know more about CAS please read my previous blog post, which can be found by clicking here.
CAS has now officially been in force for seven months, and despite initial hopes, it has so far yielded very disappointing results. Torrentfreak reports that since the implementation of the six-strikes measure, US visitors to one of the web’s most popular pirating websites has actually very slightly increased in comparison to 2012.
The failure of CAS thus far has sparked some interesting conversation online. Some are blaming CAS’ failure on the fact that CAS is simply a system of empty threats. Even after the sixth strike, ISP have a limited course of action they can take in punishing the pirates. Their reluctance may be because internet connection has been considered in other jurisdictions, such as France, to be a basic human right. While it is not been formally recognised as such in the US, banning people will undoubtedly cause controversy and will inadvertently bring attention to this fact.
Furthermore, some argue that those who pirate have a better understanding of how to circumvent CAS. CAS is designed to be user friendly, and pirates are usually thought of as savvy enough to know how to circumvent the lenient barriers set up by the system. While this may be true, it doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to search google for ways to bypass CAS.
What really boggles the mind when it comes to CAS’ failure at first, is the fact that France’s version of CAS (which only has three-strikes as opposed to six) was relatively successful. In 2011, there were varying statistics to show that there was a decrease in overall piracy. However on closer inspection, there was some noteable difference between CAS and France’s three strike policy which would explain its effectiveness. For one, France’s three strike policy in engulfed in statute, while the US’ is a collective initiative taken up (with some government influence) by the ISP’s. Furthermore France’s three-strike policy actually allowed the suspension of internet connection which severely reduced piracy. However, ironically, the suspension of internet connection was the reason the French constitutional court eventually deemed the legislation to be incompatible with their constitution. This was done on the basis that internet connection was a basic human right.
Sources:
http://torrentfreak.com/six-strikes-fails-to-halt-u-s-pirate-bay-growth-130903/
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Six-Strikes-Has-Had-No-Impact-on-Piracy-Traffic-125646
http://torrentfreak.com/french-three-strikes-law-slashes-piracy-but-fails-to-boost-sales-120330/
