In the process of updating the Joint Strategic Plan for Intellectual Property Enforcement to help combat online piracy, the government’s IP czar Vishal Amin has sent out a call for input. The Motion Picture Association of America has suggestions, chief among them that Internet service providers be forced to take more responsibility for referral traffic from piracy sites. Currently, under the law, ISPs are regarded as neutral networks, but the MPAA wants them to play a role in filtering copyright-infringing content.
The MPAA listed concrete ways that ISPs and hosting services can comply, including automated piracy filters on their servers. They are already legally required to process takedown notices and terminate repeat infringers. The MPAA added that they should also “prevent re-registration by terminated users.” The Hollywood group also suggested that, “hosting providers should not challenge suspension court orders, when copyright holders go up against pirate sites … [and that] hosts should keep an eye on high traffic volumes which may be infringing, and ban referral traffic from pirate sites outright.”
The MPAA acknowledged that these companies will push back against its proposals, claiming a violation of free expression. But its point of view is that stopping “illegal activity promotes free expression by creating a safer environment where individuals feel comfortable to communicate and engage in commerce, and to create and lawfully access content.”
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