It looks like an interesting case has appeared that features yet another abuse of the dreaded DMCA "fake-down" notification system.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081001-cox-implements-three-strikes-policy-lies-to-its-victims.htmlTorrentFreak has posted the tale of one of its users, a Cox Communications subscriber, who has apparently been disconnected after what he claimed was his third strike. The report came complete with a screenshot of the warning page the user was referred to.
We were unable to find the text of this page by searching Cox's site. Assuming it's accurate, however, the most striking aspect of the page is that Cox claims it is required to take this action by the DMCA, a claim that is simply false.
There seem to be two problems, however, with this course of action. The first is that the company is needlessly muddying the waters in an area of law (the DMCA) that has become more and more significant to computer users as user-generated content has increased in popularity. Perhaps more importantly, however, Cox is pursuing its policy following unsubstantiated accusations of copyright violations, precisely the sort of action that the EU has decided was not going to cut it.
Lets hope some of the facts are wrong in this case as its a clear cut abuse of the rights of any ISP user, especially when the initial accuser is an entity well know for misleading not only ISP companies but the courts also,