The Internet Security Task Force (ISTS), a consortium comprised of motion picture companies, is requesting that U.S. Internet service providers abandon the Copyright Alert System (CAS), which ISTS views as “ineffective.” The system forwards up to six warnings to Internet users who are identified as sharing copyrighted material via BitTorrent and other resources, before potentially taking action. ISTS is calling for a new system with stronger measures, possibly modeled after Canada’s Copyright Modernization Act.

The consortium contends that the system — initially enacted by the Center for Copyright Information in 2011 — has not proven effective. According to ISTS, there has been a 160 percent increase in the piracy of movies, TV shows, music, video games and software over the last two years.

“We’ve always known the Copyright Alert System was ineffective, as it allows people to steal six movies from us before they get an educational leaflet. But now we have the data to prove that it’s a sham,” said Mark Gill, ISTF chairman and president of Millennium Films.

The carriers participating in CAS include AT&T U-verse, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS.

Under the Canadian Copyright Modernization Act, “there is no limit on the number of notifications that must legally be forwarded to ‘offending’ ISP customers, which has led to a 69.6 percent reduction in infringements at Bell Canada, with Rogers, TekSavvy, Telus and Shaw all reporting notable reductions in piracy,” reports The Stack.