Users of The Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent, Rarbg, Torrentz2, 1337x, Kickass Torrents, and other peer-to-peer file sharing websites are no longer set to receive warnings for copyright infringement. Users will also no longer be in danger of punitive actions by their Internet Service Providers after receiving multiple warnings.

The Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent, Rarbg, Torrentz2, 1337x, And Kickass Torrents Users Received ISP Warnings

Back in 2011 a coalition was formed consisting of the U.S. government, ISPs AT&T, Cablevision Systems, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Dubbed The Center For Copyright Information (CCI), the group formed a program known as the Copyright Alert System, which was designed as an "educational" system of fighting online copyright infringement, specifically targeting users of peer-to-peer file sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent, Rarbg, Torrentz2, 1337x, and Kickass Torrents.

The group created what was known as the "Six Strikes" system. Each time copyright infringing activity was reported on their accounts, customers of the participating ISPs would incur a "strike." The first two incidences would result in a notice informing them that the activity had been reported on their account, without requiring the subscriber to do anything at all. The third and fourth strikes required recipients of the notice to actively acknowledge having received notice of the activity. The fifth and sixth strikes generally resulted in the punitive action of users having their internet speeds throttled for a limited time period.

While internet subscribers initially feared that they could eventually have their service disconnected as a result of the system, it soon became clear that after the sixth strike, nothing at all would in fact occur.

'Six Strikes' Program Officially Discontinued

Now, despite an attempt by The CCI to put a positive spin on the effects of their efforts, the program has been officially ended.

"After four years of extensive consumer education and engagement, the Copyright Alert System will conclude its work," reads a statement on the CCI website. "The program demonstrated that real progress is possible when content creators, Internet innovators and consumer advocates come together in a collaborative and consensus-driven process. CAS succeeded in educating many people about the availability of legal content, as well as about issues associated with online infringement."

Although users of websites such as The Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent, Rarbg, Torrentz2, 1337x, and Kickass Torrents no longer need fear the six-strike program and resulting the action in conjunction with it, ISPs are still technically supposed to take actions against repeat copyright infringers under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), including potential account suspension. Practically, however, as no official standard has been set for what constitutes a repeat infringer, ISPs remain reluctant to do so.

Ironically, just days before the end of the Copyright Alert System was announced, a similar warning program went to effect in the UK.