Internet service providers (ISP) as their name suggests provides internet services to users, and what users do with that internet is really up to them, save for certain restrictions that might have been put into place by the government. This also means that the onus for catching and stopping pirates is usually on the copyright holder, not the ISP.
However ISP Armstrong Zoom seems to be taking a slightly more proactive role in trying to deter piracy. In an letter obtained by TorrentFreak, it seems that the ISP (who provides access to about a million subscribers in the Northeastern part of the US) has warned its users suspected of piracy that their smart home appliances could be affected as a result of their internet speeds being throttled.
The letter reads, “Please be advised that this may affect other services which you may have connected to your internet service, such as the ability to control your thermostat remotely or video monitoring services.” As some publications have pointed out, this does seem a bit harsh, especially since it could affect areas which are experiencing extremely cold temperatures which could also result in people getting sick, or maybe even dying.
It has also been pointed out that sometimes trying to pinpoint the exact person who pirated the content can be difficult, especially in a household that shares the internet and an IP address, which also means that sometimes people might be innocently accused and thus potentially suffer as a result of the throttling and inconvenience.
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