AT&T And Comcast Willing To Cut Off File Sharers
from the no-surprise-there dept
While ISPs have been reluctant to admit to agreeing to be a part of the RIAA's three strikes plan, if you had to take a guess who would be involved, AT&T and Comcast would probably lead the list (along with Cox, which has already admitted to doing so). So, it probably comes as no surprise that News.com has confirmed from internal sources that, indeed, both AT&T and Comcast have agreed, in principle, to participate -- though neither will admit to it publicly for fear of public backlash. Of course, in places like where I live, what do they have to fear? The only options for broadband here are... AT&T DSL and Comcast cable. So it's not like there are alternatives. It shouldn't impact me directly, since I don't engage in any file sharing, but the principle of the thing is quite bothersome (not to mention the false positives that occur). No matter what other issues one might have with Verizon, the company should be given credit for (a) actually investing in much faster fiber networks and (b) being willing to openly stand up to the entertainment industry over the years. If only FiOS were actually available where I live.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: isps, three strikes
Companies: at&t, comcast, riaa
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
What are my options?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Someone needs to stand up to the RIAA and tell them off.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What is the Source of this Right to Filter?
If we generalize this, I could walk up to some unknown person who just happens to be standing there and demand under the penalty of death that they break into a house on the simple belief that the house might contain something of mine. This would not appear to be a civil society that is based on the rule of law. Seems that we are falling into corporatism.
Not only are they attempting to deprive you of your paid for service, AT&T and Comcast are are attempting to hide it ==> "though neither will admit to it publicly for fear of public backlash." I guess the corporate leaders of AT&T and Comcast have not learned anything about ethics from the collapse of our financial system. If companies are not willing to be honest and transparent, the companies deserve to be regulated.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Alternatives
I understand why dialup might not be considered an alternative, but if you want to make a statement and still need connectivity .....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Alternatives
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
0 tolerence for this BS!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oh Fun
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Oh Fun
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What do you mean? Do you mean that you never download anything from the Internet? Or that you don't own a printer that might engage in file sharing?
Considering the letters sent and lawsuits filed previously, it might impact people who don't even have computers, roflmao.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
google back in the game?
still haven't figured out how to place url tags in here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
NetFlix allows you to legally download some videos using an internet connection, immediately.
While some complain about their connection, just remember, in Japan, you can get 100MBs and a 300GBlimit. Why? The demand was there. Hell, Canada has faster Broadband than the average US user.
So, maybe the best answer to investing in network upgrades is to create a legal demand which is underserved by AT&T and/or Comcast customers.
GET THE NETFLIX BOX!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Its time
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Comcast & File Sharing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Comcast & File Sharing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mike, it feels like your missing your own point. First, all the RIAA has to do is accuse you, not prove they're right. And it's been shown repeatedly that they aren't accurate and they can be easily fooled -- hence letters sent to printers, etc. So all that needs to happen is for you to be connected by one of these ISPs and all bets are off as far as the stability of your connection. A dishonest downloader could divert them to your address and you'll be kicked off. That's a problem.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Give me a few days
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I think P2P will soon be passe
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A-holes
As I have said before. Comcast is my only option here, aside from satellite or dial-up, which are not really options at all for a gamer. Sad really. However, if they want to boot me, over file sharing, when the sharing I do is sanctioned by the creators, I will heavily take them to task and shove their reputation in the mud some more.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Limitations may already be occuring with AT&T
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Verizon is different?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It does affect you whether you realize it or not. This move is step #1 towards censoring the internet and forcing you to content on either an ATT portal or Comcast portal.
These companies need to be busted into a zillion little pieces.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ummm....???
What about legit file-sharing? Do they realize that one of the most popular game developers, Blizzard, uses a BitTorrent style files-haring program to distribute updates to World of Warcraft, along with their games via their online store?
I've also used file-sharing programs to get updates for some less known games, provided by the developers. And a lot of direct to drive games use a file-sharing program... What are they going to do? Block these users until they can verify they are legit downloads? Are they going to limit it to just uploaders? I've used uTorrent to download games I own, but no longer have usable CD's/DVD's, which is legal.
They're going to cut-off a lot of theier subscribers.....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
deliverance; in a year or so
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
So why
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is bull sh!t
[ link to this | view in chronology ]