KamMan
join:2001-08-24
Bradenton, FL
clubs:
| AT&T looking at Internet filtering
Came across this article and thought it was worth sharing or a discussion....
DAVOS, Switzerland - AT&T Inc. is still evaluating whether to examine traffic on its Internet lines to stop illegal sharing of copyright material, its chief executive said Wednesday.
CEO Randall Stephenson told a conference at the World Economic Forum that the company is looking at monitoring peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, one of the largest drivers of online traffic but also a common way to illegally exchange copyright files.
"It's like being in a store and watching someone steal a DVD. Do you act?" Stephenson asked.
AT&T has talked about such plans since last summer. They represent a break with the current practice of U.S. Internet service providers, who are shielded by law from liability if their subscribers trade copyright files like movies.
Link to full article:
»news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_···rum_at_t |
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Blackbird
Built for Speed
Premium
join:2005-01-14
Fort Wayne, IN
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| It's hard to follow Stephenson's reasoning here. If AT&T "is still evaluating" whether to examine traffic, that would imply they're not already examining. In which case, Stephenson's analogy about being in a store and watching DVD theft fails... because if they're not examining the traffic, they have no way to know a particular "someone" is stealing anything. A better AT&T analogy would be: it's like being blind and in a store, and thinking DVD theft will occur sometimes - but with nothing witnessed, you have no reason or justification to 'act'.
One can but wonder if AT&T's reasoning is similar regarding 'examining' phone traffic, since all manner of illegal planning and activities involve phone conversations.
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If God wanted us to work with electrons, He'd make them big enough to see... |
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HenryNettles
join:2003-07-22
Sealy, TX | reply to KamMan
Which, of course, explains why UseNet providers now offer SSL encryption..... |
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