In a blog posted earlier this week, EVE Online developers announced that players who create automated bots will be banned for three days and removed from the game permanently if they are repeat offenders.
While CCP isn't taking legal action against players who create automated bots it could be a possibility in the future, as a court recently ruled in favor of Twitch cracking down on illegal bot makers.
After players expressed frustration over the increased number of botters in EVE Online, CCP was prompted to implement stricter punishments.
"A little over 1800 accounts were banned for botting/automation in January," the blog states. "About one third of the affected accounts received permanent bans as repeat offenders, while the rest was temporarily banned on first offense."
Starting March 1st, players caught on a first botting offense will be temporarily banned from EVE Online for three days as opposed to the current thirty days. A second offense will result in a permanent ban from the game.
Lead community developer Sveinn Kjarval went into more detail about the update in the comments of the blog post. "We used to have more strikes in the past but they were reduced down to two which is plenty enough," he writes. "Our goal isn’t to punish but to end the behavior that breaks the rules for the sake of the game."