Comcast May Face Lawsuits Over BitTorrent Filtering

An anonymous reader writes "It's been widely reported that Comcast is engaged in a sneaky form of Internet filtering. The company is terminating its customers' BitTorrent sessions by sending misleading data onto the network. The end result is that instead of targeting key heavy users, Comcast is instead engaged in an all out war against P2P protocols. In an interview with CNET, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Fred von Lohmann states that Comcast is 'throwing a spanner in the works of the Internet, hoping that this will somehow reduce bandwidth usage overall.' Other lawyers seem to have smelled blood, and are circling in the water. Lohmann reveals that '[The EFF has] already been contacted by attorneys who are considering legal action against Comcast.' Could Comcast be facing a class-action?"

Comments

ZOMG!! Squeal!!

[anthonyclark]

YAY, I have a tiny chance of receiving $7.32 off my comcast bill in 6 years time!

Re:ZOMG!! Squeal!!

[sgarringer]

So you're why all my bittorrent downloads are so slow, wasting upload with something you can get for free anyway! Why don't you try seeding something of worth =)

PS: I kid, I kid.

It's Working!

[Bob9113]

Comcast is 'throwing a spanner in the works of the Internet, hoping that this will somehow reduce bandwidth usage overall.'

Honestly, I have to give Comcast this point. I was thinking about signing up with Comcast, but now will be going with Copowi instead. That'll save Comcast some bandwidth.

Comcast Rebate

[CryptoJones]

Well, it's not like you could get the three years of crappy service back, right?

Heh...

[Otter]

If you're one of the aggrieved filesharers and you're willing to submit your hard drive and IP records for discovery, you're either:

1) The one guy out there actually downloading Creative Commons-licensed Ogg Theora files

...or...

2) A complete idiot

I'm not a lawyer, but...

[toadlife]

...considering the country that Comcast operates in, I'd say the possibility of a lawsuit is pretty close to 1.

WoW is good for something

[faloi]

I bet lawyers are salivating. With 9 million subscribers, all of whom are directly or indirectly affected by Comcast's actions, you've got a pretty sizable number of people who might sign on. Granted, all the people in the class action suit will get next to nothing. But the lawyers won't have to worry about paying for their children to eat for a while.

Re:WoW is good for something

[Biff Stu]

...the lawyers won't have to worry about paying for their children to eat for a while.

Let me rephrase that for you:
...the lawyers won't have to eat their children for a while

by definition

[Humorless Coward.]

Comcastic - adj., possessing an attribute of being extremely bad and yet seemingly unavoidable, due to being a monopolistic local utility providing a needed service: Our cable service is horribly intermittent. It's really comcastic!
See similar items:

1. craptastic
2. Crap
3. Comcast

Re:Comcast

[DustyShadow]

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this thread is now dumber for having listened to it. If I had points, I would mod you down.

Re:It's not just P2P -- Lotus Notes traffic also!

[wsanders]

I'd block Lotus Notes, too. The sooner those people are put out of their misery the better off they'll be.

Re:Comcast

[nomadic]

I can not fill my backyard swimming pool full of radioactive sludge no matter how much I want to.

Those commie pinko liberals, always trying to keep a man down...