New Anti-Piracy Policy From Comcast Will Use Pop-Ups To Fight Illegal Downloads

The current 'Six Strikes' program gives users downloading pirated material six warnings before throttling their bandwidth, resulting in slower download speeds.

But Comcast is now developing a new program, Variety's Andrew Wallenstein reports, and it doesn't involve internet throttling at all.

Instead, Comcast would briefly interrupt illegal downloads with a pop-up ad. The pop-up would then contain a link to the official content, paving the way for legal purchases. The new policy could eventually replace the 'Six Strikes' system for Comcast, or the two could exist in tandem.

The pop-up policy is still in its infancy, with Variety reporting that Comcast has just begun discussing details with networks and movie studios.