We previously told you about the Copyright Alert System (CAS), a voluntary collaboration between internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast, Time Warner and AT&T and copyright owners in the music and movie/TV industries.

The CAS is meant to address piracy through a system of alerts sent to internet users suspected of downloading unauthorized music and whatnot. Last week, we heard rumors that Monday, Feb. 25 (today) was the day — this has now been confirmed by the Center for Copyright Information (CCI), the organization tasked with overseeing the program.

There still isn’t a lot of information about specifics, but we assume that the CAS will include notices sent to subscribers, as well as some punitive measures including slowed internet speeds for repeat offenders. The last time we kicked the tires on these proposals was in March 2012. Back then we concluded that the CAS was essentially an education program, with multiple warnings before any penalties kick in. We were glad that the program wouldn’t be used to kick users off the internet, but could only wait and see whether these mitigation measures would have a meaningful impact on piracy.

Here’s our initial breakdown of what the CAS would do, based on the provisions we understood to be most likely a part of the program:

Phase 1: Education - After a content provider sends a notice to ISPs of alleged infringement, the ISPs will find the user linked to the allegation and send them an initial alert. The alert will tell the user that she has been suspected of infringement, that it is unlawful and can lead to serious consequences (both under law and the terms of service of their ISP account), and inform them of legal options for obtaining the content and of ways to check their online security. This phase will cover the first two notices an ISP receives, but if the two notices come too close together, seem too egregious, or there are subsequent ones, the ISPs can chose to escalate to phase 2 of the policy.

Phase 2: Acknowledgement - Similar to the educational phase, only at this phase users have to actually acknowledge in some way that they’ve received the alert and pledge to stop infringing behavior. After 5-6 total alerts a user has received the ISP can choose to further escalate to phase 3, involving possible the imposition of actual penalties.

If a user goes a year without receiving further notices on their account, the number of strikes gets reset to zero.

Phase 3: Mitigation - At this phase the ISP will have the discretion to choose what possible penalties to impose on a repeatedly red-flagged user, like slowing down internet speeds, redirecting them to copyright educational sites, or at worst, temporarily restricting the user’s internet. ISPs will not disable a user’s voice, emergency, or email services. Additionally, users facing mitigation can appeal (for $35) to an independent arbiter and defend their behavior on several grounds, including asserting that the wrong account was targeted, that the infringement is attributed to unauthorized use of their account, or a fair use argument.

As longtime supporters of a legititmate digital marketplace where musicians are compensated and fans can find the music they want, our best hope is that the CAS encourages the use of licensed music platforms that pay creators. We’ll be tracking.