The Six-Strikes Anti-Piracy Program is here! We previously reported that the program was delayed to 2013, and we’ve talked plenty about how exactly it works, but the day has finally come for the system to finally go live. The bad news for those of you that hated the idea? If you live in the US, you’ll most likely be affected.

Previously leaked info about the Copyright Alert System detailed Verizon’s plans, so we’ve known for awhile that they’d be one of the ISPs participating in the program. Joining them are AT&T, Comcast, Cablevision and Time Warner.

The whole idea behind the system is to “educate,” which is why you’ll be receiving plenty of alerts when copyrighted content is shared using your account, before your speed will be reduced temporarily at the fifth and sixth alert. The Center for Copyright Information believes that many people don’t actually know they’re trafficking copyrighted content online, which is one of the reasons why they released this video as well:

The video is now sitting at 80 likes and almost 5,000 dislikes. I think people understand the concept well enough — they just don’t like it.

[via CCI, The Verge]