AT&T Looking at Internet Filtering

[DCSholtis]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080123/world_forum_at_t.html?.v=2

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- 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.

Stephenson said he still sees value in peer-to-peer networks despite some problems. The networks are increasingly used for legally distributed files like movie trailers and software.

[paulman182]

Rather than being similar to watching someone steal a DVD in a store, it is more like a car manufacturer putting a camera in each vehicle and watching for a customer to break the law.

I'm against online piracy, but what is next?

[Doug Brott]

Agreed .. Let the monitoring start after you become suspicious of a particular configuration. There are legitimate uses of peer-to-peer networking and the existence of the traffic is not sufficient grounds IMHO.

[HighVoltage]

This is complete crap and misdirection. They have no interest in stopping "illegal sharing" for the common good. This is simply an excuse to cap the bandwidth consumption of peer-to-peer networks just like Comcast. The next thing will be they start charging by the kbit...

[tomcrown1]

Well if AT&T is dumb enough to carry through can we say Sign Me Up Earthlink.

[Stewart Vernon]

The ISPs really really do not want to get into the business of spying on their own traffic and looking for lawbreakers... because once they do that, they become responsible for all lawbreaking, and then they have to police it.

The "out" all ISPs have right now is that they are like the road... the "information superhighway" as it were... where when you drive down the road to the bank and rob it, the Dept of Transportation is not liable because you used their road to get to the bank. Similarly, if you use the internet to break the law, your ISP is not held accountable.

BUT... if they start snooping and spying and monitoring, then they become responsible for reporting possible crimes and it becomes nasty very fast.

They might want to cap high-bandwidth users, but they have to find a way to do it that doesn't involve looking at the legal nature of the content... they can cap based upon high usage if they want, or tier their charges to charge high-bandwidth users more per month (or per kB or something)... but they seriously do not want to get into looking at the content.

[4DThinker]

I'm curious how they will seperate legal downloaders from illegal ones. With DirecTV on-demand, Apple TV, Xbox, and all the other internet content boxes out there, the traffic of movies and songs is going to keep going up, with most of it being legal paid-for downloads.

[Stewart Vernon]

I'm curious how they will seperate legal downloaders from illegal ones. With DirecTV on-demand, Apple TV, Xbox, and all the other internet content boxes out there, the traffic of movies and songs is going to keep going up, with most of it being legal paid-for downloads.

That would actually be one of the easiest things to monitor. ISPs could get an updated (updated monthly or whenever necessary to be current) list of Web sites that are authorized distributors of those legal downloads. If you are downloading from any other site, then you must be getting it illegally.

I'm not encouraging this! But that actually would be one of the easiest ways to begin filtering.

[Steve Mehs]

If you are downloading from any other site, then you must be getting it illegally.

But what about P2P. Yeah I do a lot of illegal downloading from Limewire so I can fill up my iPod, but the last thing I downloaded was an audio clip of the Buffalo Sabres goal horn and siren from HSBC arena, not exactly illegal content. How would they monitor P2P traffic to give me the green light for 'sabresgoalhorn.mp3' but at the same time send the RIAA goon squad after me for downloading 'Metallica - Enter Sandman.mp3'.

[Stewart Vernon]

But what about P2P. Yeah I do a lot of illegal downloading from Limewire so I can fill up my iPod, but the last thing I downloaded was an audio clip of the Buffalo Sabres goal horn and siren from HSBC arena, not exactly illegal content. How would they monitor P2P traffic to give me the green light for 'sabresgoalhorn.mp3' but at the same time send the RIAA goon squad after me for downloading 'Metallica - Enter Sandman.mp3'.

In order to be effective they would have to monitor both the content AND the source of the transmission.

So... getting "Metallica - Enter Sandman" from an authorized Metallica Web site would be ok... getting it from anywhere else would not.

If "sabresgoalhorn" was not protected content, then it wouldn't matter where you get it from.

Now... it starts to be like some of those pornography laws that are vague and left up to the officer to decide what he thinks is illegal... in which case, there would no doubt be cases of someone downloading a non-illegal thing but being reported and blocked and have to fight to get that corrected.

It's a very bad and slippery slope, and one I doubt the ISPs really want to get involved in... since as I said, once they get involved they become responsible.

It's like... if I witness a bank robber with a gun running from a bank, I should call the police and be a witness if I see something useful... but I am NOT expected to chase him down and catch him. IF, however, I was a police officer... then even if I am off-duty at the time, I would be expected to do more than just stand and watch.

Once the ISPs start sniffing, they will get locked into things not just for what they catch but for what they don't.