Americans could be cut off from the internet over copyright claims

Americans might lose their internet access as a result of a bad decision on a copyright case involving an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

A court ruled that an ISP could avoid being liable for copyright infringement by terminating the account of a violator after as few as two accusations from a copyright holder.

The court also allowed a damages formula that will incentivize ISPs to terminate the accounts of their users rather than risk paying a ridiculous amount in damages for copyright liability.

The case was filed by Sony Music against Cox Communications, an ISP. The district court ruled in favor of Sony, which argued that Cox was liable for enabling its users to infringe on copyright laws by sharing music recordings in peer-to-peer networks.

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