AT&T Content Filtering Plans Actually About Helping AT&T Subscribers?

from the help-me-do-what-exactly? dept

Thu, Oct 4th 2007 8:42am — Mike Masnick

We were confused over the summer when AT&T announced plans to follow the entertainment industry's request to have ISPs install filters to try to block the transfer of unauthorized content. It didn't make much sense for a variety of reasons. First, it's hard to see why AT&T should be involved at all in a business model issue for the entertainment firms. It's difficult to see the business advantage to AT&T. It's going to cost quite a bit to install those filters and it's likely to piss off plenty of AT&T customers -- especially once those filters start slowing traffic down and blocking perfectly legitimate material (and, yes, it will do both things). However, AT&T is now defending this decision before Congress by claiming that these filters will actually help consumers: "It's about making more content available to more people in more ways."

That's quite a claim considering filters do exactly the opposite of that. The whole point of the filter is to make less content available. Saying otherwise is simply doublespeak. However, to be fair, I'm going to assume that the response from supporters of AT&T's position would probably be that what the AT&T exec means is that by filtering content it'll make entertainment companies more comfortable with putting more content online. That's a stretch, at best, and actually shows a huge incorrect assumption made by many people in this debate: that "content" is what comes from big entertainment companies. The fact is that content comes from all over these days -- some of it is professionally produced and some of it is not. However, what's valuable content on the internet is not the professionally produced stuff, so much as all of the other content... that often shows up as "communication." The internet doesn't need "broadcast" content to thrive. It's done just fine without it for years. On the other hand, the big entertainment companies probably do need to figure out the internet if they want to survive. It seems a bit backwards that the companies that need the internet the most, want the internet to change for them, rather than realizing they need to change for the internet.

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Filed Under: content filtering, copyright, filters, net neutrality
Companies: at&t

18 Comments

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Faz, 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:05am

AT&T is now defending this decision before Congress by claiming that these filters will actually help consumers: "It's about making more content available to more people in more ways."

DID ATT SERIOUSLY SAY THAT.. HAHHAA MORON. Well we have learnt that driving in reverse makes us go forward hhahahaa
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William, 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:11am

???
I think they mean that by shutting down file sharing. There would be more bandwidth for legal uses like commerce.
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- Raptor85, 4 Oct 2007 @ 3:34pm
  
  Re: ???
  Not really aimed at the parent post so much as just being more specific in what he said. Though it may be what ATT is trying to say, it should be noted that file sharing is NOT illegal, and though it is heavily used for illegal purposes it is also heavily used for legal purposes.
  
  Off the top of my head a few legal uses that, on the ISP side, would be indistinguishable from illegal uses.
  
  1. Downloads for open source projects such as OpenOffice, Mandriva, ubuntu, and NetBSD are offered over P2P, and is the recommended download method (saves the distributors in bandwidth, kinda important in gratis software)
  2. World of Warcraft's auto-update tool (P2P using
  BitTorrent protocol)
  
  They might just as well go farther and ban IP, because ALL the protocols on top of it contribute to illegal actions.
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James, 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:21am

Show me one person who can't conduct commerce beca
... and I'll let you in on this wonderful real estate deal in Lower Manhattan. It's about this bridge.... goes to Brooklyn, kinda big, kinda old, good condition though. Think of all the ad space you could sell on it! Really good price, going fast!
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mdmadph (profile), 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:24am

Doublespeak...
...is what the Party does best. Don't be surprised by it.
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- chris (profile), 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:42am
  
  Re: Doublespeak...
  orwellian doublespeak for sure:
  
  WAR IS PEACE
  FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
  IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
  
  why doesn't AT&T just change it's name to Big Brother and get it over with?
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Fred, 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:32am

1984
Ignorance is Strength

War is Peace

Thoughtcrime is Death

The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation.
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James Burk, 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:48am

I wonder if they would extend their filters to sites like mine that allow people to bypass these blocks.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Oct 2007 @ 9:59am

ATT can blow me
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Mike, 4 Oct 2007 @ 11:12am

Easy enough
Just don't use ATT. Easy as that, if ppl leave the service over it, they will come around pretty quick.
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- Yep, 4 Oct 2007 @ 11:30am
  
  Re: Easy enough
  Really easy when you live in a town that only has ATT service as broadband? Of course that means I should move then right? What if I don't have the money to move?
  
  Where is my easy answer? Dial-up is not a viable option due to the fact that I am on call once ever few weeks. When a call comes in, the work is usually done from home (it's quicker, easier, and saves me tons of money on gas). Are you going to come to my area and and set up your own broadband company instead for a comparable price so that there are easy answers for people like me? Am I in the minority by living in rural America?
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- Anonymous Coward, 4 Oct 2007 @ 12:12pm
  
  Re: Easy enough
  ATT has the backbone of the internet, this is not as simple as choosing a different local provider if that option is available.
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Satellite, 4 Oct 2007 @ 12:15pm

Easy Enough...
Lol, what are you yelling at him for?...there's always satellite.
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local user, 4 Oct 2007 @ 1:35pm

with or with-out the filters;all activity is monitored anyway yop=spyware
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RandomThoughts, 4 Oct 2007 @ 2:31pm

Why shouldn't AT&T be big brother? They already have the deathstar logo. I do miss Ed though, he had some great lines. These guys in front of Congress are pikers.
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 4 Oct 2007 @ 2:53pm

It doesn't matter...
...what the AT&T execs say to Congress. The money under the table has already spoken.
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newmanae, 5 Oct 2007 @ 2:44am

Control
ATT is all about control, cable tv is their model for what the internet should look like and given our governments record in dealing with the entertainment industry and isp's it won't be long before they tame this tiger.
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Pirate, 31 Mar 2008 @ 11:38am

Freedom
It has alwasy been illegal to profite from pirated copywrited material. In the 80's cassette tapes were made by the billions but selling them was considered piracy. Sure you hade a few jokers selling duran duran out of the trunk of the car I suppose but this new debate is about freedom. Simply boycotting ATT will not be enough, this company was broken up in the past for monopoly and consumer abuse. Its time to do it again.
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