If you’re new to Starlink, don’t be surprised if you get a notice warning you about your copyright infringement, regardless of whether you’ve downloaded copyrighted material or not.
These types of notices aren’t unique to Starlink, but as a professional lurker on ISP sub-Reddits, I’ve found the satellite provider to be one of the most aggressive of the bunch. I’ve seen dozens of these posts over the years, with many users complaining that they had nothing to do with the infringement described in the notices.
The practice started in 2013, long before Starlink launched its first satellites. That was when Hollywood copyright holders teamed up with internet service providers to create the Copyright Alert System, a joint effort to fight copyright infringement by identifying IP addresses that downloaded illegal content. It sent out more than a million notices to users in its first 10 months, but ended with a whimper after failing to make a dent in piracy over its four years.
Locating local internet providers
Today, the framework established between ISPs and copyright holders lives on. If you download a copyrighted piece of content illegally -- meaning you don’t pay for it -- the copyright holder can notify your internet provider.
Courts have consistently ruled in favor of copyright holders, who argue that ISPs broke the law by refusing to disconnect customers who pirated content. The Supreme Court will decide in December whether to uphold $1 billion in damages against Cox Communications for this very issue.
Locating local internet providers
All of that is to say, ISPs are likely taking copyright complaints more seriously than ever. But being falsely accused appears more common with Starlink than other major internet providers.
That’s because Starlink uses a technique called CGNAT, or carrier-grade network address translation. This essentially means that Starlink allocates one IP address to multiple homes, which can result in you getting blamed for your neighbor’s torrenting, a file-sharing protocol that has legitimate uses but is often used to download copyrighted material.
CGNAT is typically only used by smaller ISPs, which can struggle to get a massive allocation of individual IP addresses for their users.
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