Mexico's Senate Approves ISP Rules to Disconnect Persistent Online Pirates

Mexico’s Senate has approved amendments to the Federal Copyright Law requiring consumer internet providers to adopt and publish policies for terminating subscribers who repeatedly infringe copyright. The Chamber of Deputies had already passed the same text, and the decree now awaits President Claudia Sheinbaum’s signature. The government says the changes align Mexican law with the USMCA trade agreement, while U.S. copyright groups had urged Mexico to establish clearer rules making providers responsible for facilitating piracy. The requirement extends existing DMCA-style rules for hosting platforms and search engines to ordinary ISPs, meaning a provider’s policy could result in a subscriber’s entire internet connection being cut off.

The law does not define a “repeat infringer” or set the number of allegations needed to justify disconnection, leaving providers to establish their own thresholds. Legal experts recommend checking accusations and allowing users to respond, but those safeguards are not mandated. Opponents warn that one household member’s conduct could disconnect an entire family; a proposed requirement for a court order was rejected. Providers that fail to meet the safe-harbor conditions may face liability if they knowingly contribute to infringement, induce or cause it, or can control an infringer and profit directly. Mexico’s approach differs from the U.S. Supreme Court’s Cox ruling: there, failure to maintain a repeat-infringer policy alone does not establish liability. Mexico’s rules take effect 180 days after publication in the official gazette.