Reports that ISPs, specifically AT&T , Cox Communications, and Comcast, are working with the Recording Industry Association of America to send out warnings, then threatening to close subscriber accounts have surfaced -- and some ISPs say they aren't accurate.

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, every ISP is required to send out notifications to customers when there is a question of copyright infringement. But last year the RIAA began a more proactive approach by flagging ISPs whenever there is a question of infringement. RIAA sends a letter to ISPs when an incident is discovered.

No 'Three Strikes' Policy

Comcast said it's not working hand-in-hand with the RIAA and it's not threatening customers who may be unintentionally or intentionally committing copyright infringement.

"Comcast, like other major ISPs, forwards notices of alleged infringement that we receive from music, movie, video-game and other content owners to our customers," said Charlie Douglas, a Comcast spokesperson. "This is the same process we've had in place for years -- nothing has changed."

Douglas said the company follows the law by sending out messages to customers through an automated process, but doesn't threaten its customers.

"We receive the request to notify an alleged infringement from the copyright holder," Douglas said. "We then pass it along to our customer either in an e-mail or letter."

"While we have always supported copyright holders in their efforts to reduce piracy under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and continue to do so, we have no plans to test a so-called 'three strikes and you're out' policy," he added.

Liz Kennedy, a spokesperson for RIAA, declined to comment.

Process Is Unchanged

Cox also said nothing has changed with its process of following the law and alerting customers, and it has always attached letters from copyright holders in messages to customers.

"We haven't changed anything regarding our DMCA practices, which have remained largely the same since they were implemented following passage of the act in 1998," said David Deliman, a Cox spokesperson. "We handle requests from any copyright holder (RIAA, MPAA, others) with the same process."

When Cox receives notices from RIAA and other copyright holders about infringements, Deliman said the company passes the information to customers so they can correct the problem or contact the copyright holder directly.

"This notification is the most helpful thing we can do for the customer and is expected of us, as an ISP, under the DMCA," Deliman said. "We attach a copy of the notice from the copyright holder with our message to the customer."

"Our notification process is progressive and designed to assist our customers," Deliman added. "To characterize it as 'three strikes and you're out' doesn't reflect the true process."

Piracy Is Costly

If Cox continues to receive notices for the same customer, Cox asks the customer to talk with a Cox representative. "Cox treats each case individually and works with customers extensively to resolve any allegations of copyright violations before we would ever consider termination of their account," Deliman said.

The Institute for Policy Innovation said global music piracy causes yearly losses of $12.5 billion in revenue, 71,060 U.S. jobs, $2.7 billion in worker earnings, and $422 million in tax payments.