Record labels sue another ISP, demanding mass disconnections of Internet users

The major record labels yesterday filed another lawsuit demanding that an Internet service provider terminate many more subscribers for alleged copyright violations.

Universal, Sony, and Warner sued Frontier Communications in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that the DSL and fiber ISP with 3.5 million subscribers "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. In reality, Frontier operated its network as an attractive tool and safe haven for infringement." Frontier "chose not to act on those notices and address the rampant infringement on its network," the companies claimed.

The lawsuit was filed amid concerns that a $1 billion judgment against Cox Communications will cause ISPs to terminate more customer accounts and "punish the innocent and guilty alike," as we reported Monday. Cox appealed the jury-issued penalty to the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, and its appeal received support from groups that are often on opposite sides of other major legal debates.

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