AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Cablevision, and Time Warner Cable have all signed an agreement with the RIAA and MPAA to enact a new in-house program to quell internet piracy. Sounds terrible, but there’s a bright side: It might actually stave off harsher measures that would otherwise be taken against would-be pirates.

Here’s how it works: If the cable company catches you torrenting copyrighted movies, they send you a warning via email. The third time it happens, the warning will contain a link to a pre-fab page that has some legal jargon on it, saying that you shouldn’t be pirating because it’s evil and kills kittens. You scroll through the information and click a button, much like the “yes, I’ve read the TOS” that comes with most apps and games. Then you go about your merry way.

If you get caught afterwards, the fifth or sixth email might also bring data throttling with it. If that happens, the ISP will send you to another site, except this time it’ll be more in-depth. You will be “educated” on both the evils of piracy, and the multitudes of legal options available to you, like iTunes or Amazon. You go through some hoops, agree that you’ve been reformed, and poof! You’ve got your download speeds back again.

This, of course, doesn’t go on forever. The ISPs still refuse to go as far as cutting people off entirely, but the throttling will probably become permanent should you go past the sixth email notice. Then again, if you’re getting caught that frequently, you can probably look forward to notices from other organizations, like law firms hired by the RIAA.

The RIAA and MPAA have wanted ISPs to get on their side of the fight for a long time. Until now, the ISPs have surprisingly stood their ground, so it’s easy to see why this might look like pure capitulation — but it really isn’t. They could have signed an agreement that would allow RIAA/MPAA lawyers direct access to your traffic logs. They could have agreed to supply those lawyers with names and addresses of their customers. They didn’t do that.

What they’ve done, instead, is to create a sort of “rehab” option. Think of it like people who get in trouble (cough, Lindsay Lohan) for their alcohol consumption. Instead of going directly to jail, they’re often given the option of being “rehabilitated” through education about alcohol abuse. They get a bit of counseling, make a few promises, and move on — presumably with good intentions.

This really isn’t too different; you get caught binging on illegal data, you get to sit through a lecture at Pirate School. You get caught six times, however, and you get sent there for the full course. By agreeing to do this, the ISPs are effectively getting the lawyers off their backs — and their subscribers are better off for it.

Read more at Bloomberg