The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a significant case concerning internet piracy that could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against internet service providers if they are found complicit in their users’ illegal downloads, Baltimore Chronicle. Media companies argue that broadband providers must take responsibility for the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials, including music, films, and television shows, accessed online by their subscribers.
Cox Communications, the third-largest broadband company in the United States, faces a jury award of $1 billion granted to Sony Music Entertainment and other media organizations following lawsuits over pirated content distributed online. This verdict was previously upheld by a federal appeals court. Cox now asks the Supreme Court to overturn the judgment and establish limits on contributory liability for internet providers.
If the ruling stands, Cox warns it could face bankruptcy, which might cut off internet access for entire communities and lead to what it describes as “mass evictions from the internet” in households, military barracks, hospitals, and hotels where piracy is merely suspected. Cox maintains it opposes copyright infringement and implements measures to prevent it, but contends it cannot be held accountable for the actions of individual users, who are inherently difficult to trace.
Legal representatives for Cox argue, “Your internet service provider does not purposefully participate in, or attempt to control, your online activities any more than your phone company or FedEx does in the communications they transmit,” emphasizing the limits of ISP responsibility.
Federal law clearly criminalizes direct copyright violations, but the question of secondary liability for parties indirectly involved, such as internet service providers, continues to develop in U.S. law. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), representing the entertainment industry, asserts that any entity that materially contributes to another party’s copyright infringement may be deemed a contributory infringer.
Supporters of stricter ISP liability argue that holding providers accountable creates an incentive to monitor and suspend accounts engaged in distributing protected content. Attorneys for Sony Music Entertainment contend that Cox intentionally prioritized profits over legal compliance by continuing to supply internet access to habitual offenders, allowing large-scale copyright violations to occur.
According to the MPAA, nearly 19 billion pirated downloads of movies and television content were executed via peer-to-peer software in 2023, costing the U.S. economy over $29 billion and jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of jobs.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments regarding the potential scope of contributory liability for internet service providers on Monday, with a decision expected by the end of June 2026.
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