Well, unfortunately this is still a gray area of emerging technology and the problems that come with it. Do you want your internet activities to be censored? AT&T is in hot-water after supposedly censoring a Pearl Jam concert. Do ISP’s have the right to interfere with P2P file sharing? Comcast has been attacked for exactly this action.

And when it comes to pirated content (i.e., downloading music, movies, and software legally or illegally) and P2P sharing, does your ISP have the authority to police your activities? And do they have the right to use scare tactics to stop you from utilizing these downloads? It seems they feel they do have this right. The usage policies of our providers usually state something to the effect of “you have the right to use the service you pay for so long as it does not interfere with the service of others.” The problem here is where to draw the line. By the very nature of cable internet service, many people share a connection to the ISP. If one person is using a very large amount of bandwidth for uploads and downloads (particularly if they are P2P sharing large amounts of data), the service for other users can be slowed significantly. The only real way your cable ISP can control this usage is to turn the user off completely. This is why Comcast has made efforts to slow the progress of Bittorrent files (thereby decreasing the amount of bandwidth used per second), a type of P2P file sharing, which has gotten them in hot water with consumers.

Why would they care what you’re downloading? Well, large files mean they need to supply a large amount of bandwidth. Multiply that when a user is using P2P file sharing because that user is connected to several others. In a growing city, it is possible that they just can’t keep up with the demand for bandwidth.

Now, if you’re downloading illegal media, you may think they wouldn’t care. But what if your ISP also offers TV (many do) and you either do not subscribe to their TV services or do not subscribe to a particular package that allows, say, movies. You use more bandwidth than your neighbors which raises a flag, they monitor your use, and see that you are downloading a movie or show that they offer using a torrent file that can be tracked. For their purposes, they have just caught you stealing from them so they cut off your services. What are your rights? Grande Communications has recently been known to cut off the service its loyal customers pay for for exactly this. Sure, they provide quality programming and service at a lower price than Time Warner, but where is the advantage if they are policing their customers? Grande Communications has an “Appropriate Use Policy” listed on their website which say nothing about cutting you off for any specific content. In fact, they imply that they do not monitor your use and state that you must use their services at your own risk.

Let’s not kick Grande to the dirt just yet. Time Warner has a huge subscriber base in Austin after buying up all the little guys in the 90s. Their “Subscriber Policies“ covers them pretty freely by stating that “(a) Either TWC or I may terminate all or any portion of my Services at any time for any or no reason, in its sole discretion, in accordance with applicable law.” They further state that your content will be shared given a court order or basically if the government says so and “If you are a subscriber to an ISP Service, ECPA requires your ISP and us to reveal information to the government in certain additional circumstances. ECPA addresses both the content of communications on the ISP Service, as well as subscriber record information. ECPA requires your ISP and us to disclose to governmental authorities the content of communications in response to a criminal warrant or court order without any notice to you and without your consent.” Although they do not state that they track your usage, they do explicitly state that what they do track will be shared with the government if they demand such information. Although Time Warner has more explicit policies, it is obvious that your ISP knows more about you than you’d like.

So tracking what you do online is one issue, a second is controlling what you do is another. AT&T is accused of censoring a Pearl Jam concert on their “Blue Room” service recently stating that they felt the anti-Bush lyrics would be offensive to subscribers. Although this was a service provided by AT&T, many are using this stunt to call for Net Neutrality, a movement that many feel should be spread to all types of online content. Although I was not able to find AT&T’s subscriber policy online, I am very curious if they state anything like that found in Grande’s policy regarding “use at your own risk”. It is very frustrating that an ISP would get involved in politics!

But don’t go switching to Earthlink just yet, their Acceptable Use Policy clearly states that they will indeed cut you off for doing anything illegal online. How do they know? They appear to be relying on reported information, but I bet if you use more than ‘your share’ of bandwidth, they’ll watch your use for torrent files, etc. just like the other guys.

This is long for a blog already… so is it right for your ISP to spy on you or censor your service? What if you are file sharing or downloading illegal material? And, should it be illegal to download TV shows recorded by others?

For more, I recommend:
Wired Magazine: Which ISPs Are Spying on You?
PC World - Consumer Watch
Net Neutrality - Common Cause
Google’s Info on Net Nuetrality

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