A system and method by which content, such as a software update, is downloaded in a controlled manner to clients so as to reduce peak demands, by modulating the number of clients that can request (e.g., automatically) to download content. To this end, before any download is requested, each client receives information that the client uses to determine whether to request the content now, or back off and retry the download process later. In one implementation, the information is provided via a download regulation file, comprising acceptance percentage and time window parameters that are occasionally varied based on current network load-related statistics. Clients generate a random number that is evaluated against the acceptance percentage (probability threshold) to determine whether to download or back off. The time window specifies how long downloading clients are allowed to download, or how long backed-off clients need to wait before restarting the regulated download process.