Supreme Court shields ISPs from mass-piracy liability in Cox-Sony ruling

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Internet service providers cannot be held liable for their customers’ copyright infringement unless they induce infringement or tailor the service to enable it, reversing a Fourth Circuit decision against Cox Communications and limiting DMCA liability by treating providers as not being copyright police. The decision means ISPs aren’t required to terminate subscribers en masse for alleged infringement. Sony’s Betamax-era precedent is cited as context, and Justice Sotomayor wrote a concurring opinion warning the ruling narrows other forms of secondary liability while agreeing Cox isn’t liable.