ISP settles with record labels that demanded mass termination of Internet users

One piracy case is over, but the biggest one could be decided by Supreme Court.

Internet service provider Frontier Communications agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by major record labels that demanded mass disconnections of broadband users accused of piracy.

Universal, Sony, and Warner sued Frontier in 2021. In a notice of settlement filed last week in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, with each side to pay its own fees and costs.

The record labels and Frontier simultaneously announced a settlement of similar claims in a Bankruptcy Court case in the same district. Frontier also settled with movie companies in April of this year, just before a trial was scheduled to begin. (Frontier exited bankruptcy in 2021.)

Since settlement terms weren't announced, it's not clear whether Frontier is changing its practices to satisfy the copyright holders' demands for mass terminations of broadband subscribers. We contacted Frontier and will update this article if we get a response.

Supreme Court may rule on ISPs’ obligations

Regardless of what is in the agreement, the question of whether ISPs should have to crack down more harshly on users accused of piracy could be decided by the US Supreme Court. The high court is considering whether to review a Sony victory over the cable company Cox.

The Trump administration weighed in on Cox's side, arguing that ISPs should not be held "liable for contributory copyright infringement for failing to terminate subscribers after receiving notices of infringement." The Trump admin's Department of Justice said that making ISPs liable for their customers' infringement could "encourage providers to avoid substantial monetary liability by terminating subscribers after receiving a single notice of alleged infringement."

The record labels' lawsuit complained that Frontier "received hundreds of thousands of copyright infringement notices from copyright owners" but "provided known repeat infringers with continued access to and use of its network and failed to terminate the accounts of, or otherwise take any meaningful action against, those subscribers."

ISPs have argued that infringement notices sent on behalf of record labels and movie companies are unreliable and that they shouldn't have to terminate customers based on unproven allegations. ISPs have frequently pointed out that terminating customer accounts would hurt people using the same account as someone accused of piracy.

ISPs terminate users who appear to be the most prolific offenders, but they don't disconnect enough pirates to satisfy the demands of litigious copyright holders. When record labels sued Frontier in 2021, the ISP told Ars that "Frontier is not alleged to have done anything directly to infringe any copyright owner's rights, and in fact has terminated many customers about whom copyright owners have complained. Frontier believes that it has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend itself."

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