After Six Months, RIAA and ISP Partnership Wavering

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Near the end of 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America announced that it would no longer sue individual users for sharing music on the Internet. Instead, the RIAA said that would enlist the aid of Internet Service Providers to combat piracy. The RIAA intended for ISPs, like AT&T and Comcast, to help them avoid lawsuits and thwart music pirates on a large scale.

Six months later, however, that plan has not materialized. An article published last week on CNET points out how the RIAA announced its ISP-driven plan months in advance, without concrete details or contracts to support it. Despite the fact that a few ISPs thought they would partner with the RIAA earlier this year, many are still wary of making such a deal. The RIAA is trying to turn ISPs into “their own Internet cops,” says Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “What the ISPs appear to be saying is that this isn’t our job.”

AT&T Senior Vice President Jim Cicconi said in March that AT&T would never “suspend or terminate anyone’s policy without a court order.” Cicconi went onto say that ISPs should remind customers of the implications behind piracy and urge them against illegal Internet activity, but that copyright holders need to contact the court system for harsher action.

In addition to avoiding bad publicity, the ISPs may be securing themselves against future conflict with the Federal Communication Commission over net neutrality laws – laws that encourage the neutral transmission of information on the Internet. Fulfilling his campaign promises, President Obama has chosen pro-net neutrality people for the top FCC post and the FCC Review team. Considering the recent history between ISPs and the FCC (when Comcast actually sued the FCC), ISPs may actually be choosing the safer route by not buying into an agreement with the RIAA.

by Ben Benson