Leaked AT&T Training Documents Reveal Anti-Piracy Plan

A leaked batch of AT&T training documents reveal an anti-piracy plan in the books, which includes sending warning notices to flagged accounts. In what seems to be a completely draconian measure, any subscriber who's account is flagged multiple times for copyright infringement will have access to frequently-visited websites (Facebook? YouTube?) blocked until they complete an online course on copyright. The warning notices will begin on November 28th.

This comes after the team-up of AT&T, Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon, who joined ranks with the MPAA and RIAA to form the Center for Copyright Information (CCI). The providers and MPAA/RIAA set out an agreement in which Internet subscribers would receive warnings for downloading copyrighted items. The subscriber will receive several warnings before the provider can then enact a harsher punishment.

None of the five providers have publicly commented on their involvement in the anti-piracy scheme. The leaked AT&T training documents provide the first glimpse into the plan, which is not without (extensive) controversy. The documents explain the upcoming changes to staff, and include this bit of info: "AT&T will not share any personally identifiable information about its customers with content owners until authorized by the customer or required to do so by law."

An alleged source within the Center for Copyright Information told TorrentFreak that all five providers planned to launch the program on the same day. If true, this means that Verizon, Comcast, Cablevision, and Time Warner customers will begin receiving piracy notices November 28th, in addition to AT&T subscribers. The "online education tutorial on copyright" will be triggered on the fifth or sixth warning notice, at which point access to certain frequently visited websites will be blocked until the tutorial is completed.

[via TorrentFreak]