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Cable Industry Taking Control of the Net

Posted by michael on from the don't-touch-that-dial dept.

Tompaine.com has a piece warning of measures that cable internet providers are taking to control their users' experiences online. We've touched on this before, but this issue needs a lot of attention and it has gotten very little from the mainstream press.

8 of 682 comments (clear)

  1. I'm sorry Dave.. by stephenisu · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am sorry Dave, I can not allow you to visit this non-TimeWarnerAOL site... The Media was not endorsed by the RIAA or MPAA

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    1. Re:I'm sorry Dave.. by stephenisu · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh and Dave.. I am charging you a $0.35 surcharge for looking at free porn on the bandwidth you already paid for..

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  2. Re:This is nothing new. by JasonUCF · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, er, right, sorry, I was referring to the ISPs as the last mile to the user. Realizing that Qwest, Worldcom, Sprint, et al, *actually do* control the internet.. grin.. I was referring to service providers as the individual consumer level where they are redirecting the pipe to your house.

    If UUNet suddenly died, ahem.. uh, let's try another example, if all the QWest lines suddenly died -- yes, I could see some potential networking issues!

    Thank you for clarifying.

  3. Re:This is nothing new. by almightyjustin · · Score: 3, Funny

    I feel compelled to point out that 555.12.12.12 is not a valid IP address.

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  4. The Fuss Will Be About Content by reallocate · · Score: 3, Funny

    No, but the fuss is really going to be about control of content. The cable and media companies want people to pay for entertainment delivered down the network connection that they're already paying for. The industry will find a way to prevent copying and redistribution of the content they sell, which will trigger great and incessant rants about rights being trampled. Given the quality of the content likely to be on offer, this will be a bit like ranting about your "right" to reproduce and redistribute your neighbor's trash. Or, worse yet, a typical night's programming on the WB.

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  5. What?!?! by sharkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does this mean we'll have to pay both Comcast AND the White House to view the content?

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  6. Re:Tired of getting screwed by...monopolies. by Fulcrum+of+Evil · · Score: 4, Funny

    And where exactly do we get the majority of our oil from?

    The USA. Next question, please.

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  7. Re:Considering who owns many media outlets.. by AntiNorm · · Score: 3, Funny

    Most of the cable news networks and the three major broadcast stations here in the US get their stories from the New York Times

    Do they have to log in first?

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