Cox Communications has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that held the company liable for illegal music downloads by its broadband subscribers.
Cox argues that the decision, if upheld, will lead to “mass evictions from the internet,” forcing providers to terminate connections to homes, hospitals, and other facilities based on mere accusations of infringement. The company emphasizes it did not actively promote infringement or benefit from users’ actions.
The case stems from a 2018 lawsuit by Sony Music Entertainment and other music companies, who accused Cox of facilitating piracy despite receiving “hundreds of thousands” of piracy notifications. In 2019, a jury ordered Cox to pay $1 billion—roughly $100,000 per work for approximately 10,000 infringed pieces.
Cox, supported by Verizon and other providers, argues that failing to disconnect suspected infringers should not incur liability. The company describes itself as a neutral provider of “communications infrastructure” and cites a century of case law against holding defendants liable for others’ actions. Cox serves over six million customers, including universities and hotels, and notes that only 1% were accused of infringement. It highlights the challenge of identifying specific infringers within multi-user settings like military barracks or apartment complexes, where termination could unfairly disconnect innocent users. Cox also disputes the accuracy of some infringement claims.
Other providers, like Verizon, face similar lawsuits, while Frontier and Charter have settled with music companies. The music companies are set to respond to Cox’s arguments by October 15.