Representative Howard L. Berman (D-Los Angeles) is pushing for a new law that will require ISPs to send a warning letter to their users should they access pirated content. The legislation could be introduced as early as next month, and would effectively make ISPs responsible for policing piracy on their networks, says Variety:AT&T says they'll soon be filtering pirated content voluntarily. Berman's announcement comes just weeks after NBC issued a statement to the FCC demanding that broadband ISPs be held responsible for network piracy, in part because the piracy hurt farmer/theatre popcorn revenue.

Most ISPs have been forwarding entertainment industry DMCA violation warning letters on to customers for years. Berman's bill would require ISPs create elaborate technical mechanisms to identify and track piracy on their networks. Berman's district not-too-surprisingly covers Hollywood.