Music Labels Sue Charter Because Pirates Have Fast Internet

Music labels are suing Charter, arguing that high internet speeds make it easier to pirate content (via ArsTechnica).

[This Scary EU Piracy List Could Break the Internet]

Fast Piracy Speeds

Sony, Universal, Warner, and various subsidiaries filed a complaint [PDF] in the U.S. District Court in Colorado. It says that despite Charter’s copyright policy that says repeat copyright infringers will be kicked off the network, Charter has failed to do so.

Despite these alleged policies, and despite receiving hundreds of thousands of infringement notices from Plaintiffs, as well as thousands of similar notices from other copyright owners, Charter knowingly permitted specifically identified repeat infringers to continue to use its network to infringe. Rather than disconnect the Internet access of blatant repeat infringers to curtail their infringement, Charter knowingly continued to provide these subscribers with the Internet access that enabled them to continue to illegally download or distribute Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works unabated. Charter’s provision of high-speed Internet service to known infringers materially contributed to these direct infringements.

The music labels ask for damages up to US$150,000 for each work infringed between March 24, 2013 and May 17, 2016. During this time period the labels sent Charter numerous infringement notices. The part about suing because of fast internet is here:

Charter has told existing and prospective customers that its high-speed service enables subscribers to “download just about anything instantly,” and subscribers have the ability to “download 8 songs in 3 seconds.” Charter has further told subscribers that its Internet service “has the speed you need for everything you do online.” In exchange for this service, Charter has charged its customers monthly fees ranging in price based on the speed of service.

Basically, because fast Charter speeds allegedly encourage pirates to sign up, and since Charter apparently wasn’t kicking them off fast enough, it helped Charter get more revenue.

[Do You Indulge in Internet Piracy? Don’t Use AT&T]