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French ISP Throttles Direct Download Website

Posted by timothy on from the naw-just-selectively-boosting-the-rest dept.

siliconbits contributes this snippet: "In what might be the first of many, French Internet Service Provider Orange has been caught throttling traffic to one of the world's biggest direct download websites, Megaupload. The site, which also operates Megavideo, states that Orange, which is owned by France Telecom, is preventing its users from accessing its downloading and video streaming service freely and says that it can prove it."

27 of 147 comments (clear)

  1. I Suppose Caught is the Keyword by ConaxConax · · Score: 5, Informative

    Others have probably been doing it already.

  2. Legality by biryokumaru · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is that even illegal? I think that's the whole reason for the Net Neutrality debate here in the states, and I don't actually know if it's illegal here yet... although I may be ignorant of some more basic law there that covers this kind of thing. But have our more politically enlightened friends in France made it illegal yet?

    --
    When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
    1. Re:Legality by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's France. Petit Napoleon probably already passed a law that butchers the internet freedom without anyone noticing.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Legality by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Is that even illegal?

      It is illegal. There are laws that protect users and allow them to access the sites they want.
      If Orange is not happy with a given site, they have to follow a legal procedure to close the site, not prevent the users from accessing it.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    3. Re:Legality by commodore64_love · · Score: 2

      According to the US-FCC's new neutrality rules, ISPs are allowed to throttle websites as part of their "network management". The ISPs are required to be non-discriminatory when they throttle, but good luck enforcing that part of the regulation.

      As for France, I've no clue if throttling is allowed, but given their three-strike laws they don't seem a very internet-friendly country. I bet the ISP won't be punished.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    4. Re:Legality by lennier1 · · Score: 2

      Not that far off, considering how often there's a riot in modern France.

    5. Re:Legality by johnjaydk · · Score: 4, Informative

      Thank god, that leaders like him are in short supply. A man who requests SMALL bodyguards.

      --
      TCAP-Abort
  3. Re:Yeah but by Shikaku · · Score: 4, Informative

    *Cough*

  4. I'm fine with this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    My son downloads so much stuff that I would hope more ISPs do this. Hopefully this will deter him from slowing things down at home for all the reset of us!

    1. Re:I'm fine with this by cyber-vandal · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So it's not your job to supervise your child then.

    2. Re:I'm fine with this by dfm3 · · Score: 2

      He said son, not child. He could be a 34-year old basement dweller for all we know.

    3. Re:I'm fine with this by NetNed · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So if your kid picked his nose would you want national legislation to stop him from picking his nose too?

      Here's a thought. Tell him no maybe? I would hate for you to ruin the "friendship" you have with your son, but it's you SON not your friend.

    4. Re:I'm fine with this by LordLimecat · · Score: 2

      Reread parents post; his point remains.

    5. Re:I'm fine with this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Darn right! Just like you, I want more police at cinemas and amusement parks so if my son cuts the line he learn his lesson, same with traffic.

      And someone needs to be there checking for the ice cream to, the little b**** sometimes eats it when I'm not home! Someone needs to stop him.

      I also pay for the water at the house, and my son takes 1 hour showers, can the aqueduct do something to prevent this? Same when he plugs stuff to the power outlet, I need the power company to do stuff about it, when he was a baby, he got shocked when putting the fingers inside the power outlet! I had to pay a lot in electricity that month, not counting the darn medical bill!

    6. Re:I'm fine with this by gordguide · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't see your point. If he's sharing the home connection, and it's a problem due to his use, then the father needs a backbone. I don't care how old the son is.

    7. Re:I'm fine with this by Idbar · · Score: 2

      Man, I'm with you! I'm also a responsible concerned parent!

    8. Re:I'm fine with this by PrimaryConsult · · Score: 2

      Please, don't impose your will on the rest of the users on your ISP just because you are not competent enough to set up your own QoS. It could be technical based (ie: Fancy router, linux router, software on his pc), or it could be as simple as unplugging his ethernet cable/blocking his mac whenever the internet slows down for you. Do that a few times and he'll start running his downloads when no one else is on.

    9. Re:I'm fine with this by TheLink · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah the father needs a gigabit backbone.

      --
    10. Re:I'm fine with this by whoever57 · · Score: 2

      If he's sharing the home connection, and it's a problem due to his use, then the father needs a backbone. I don't care how old the son is.

      Perhaps the son pays for the Internet connection?

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  5. Re:Orange by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2

    Orange was a mobile phone company in the UK. Then they were bought by France Telecom. Then they used the Orange brand as an ASDL reseller in the UK. I think they're now using the Orange brand in France too (at least, TFA implies it), but possibly only for ADSL and not for mobile phones.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  6. Just plain incompetence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am working for France Telecom/Orange in a service directly involved with this problem, and I can assure you that this throttling is not true.
    Actually, we had the same problem with Youtube, and at the same time other ISP had the same issue though they resolved it faster than us ... Which lead to just apologizes: yes FT/Orange is not the cutting-edge ISP and Telco it used to be; but No we are not doing it on purpose.

    1. Re:Just plain incompetence by GPLHost-Thomas · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Has it ever been cutting-edge? Come on! The market in France is only pushed thanks to the innovations of "Free". If they weren't around, every French would still use a stupid Sagem modem, no TV over IP, no IP phone and such.
      What made everyone laugh head-off was the "Ma ligne TV" thing, were you had to choose between ADSL or TV over IP. What a joke.
      Exactly what was the cutting-edge thing you were talking about?

  7. Re:Yeah but by commodore64_love · · Score: 2

    If two anonymous cowards (0) are
    talking in a woods (or slashdot),
    does anybody hear them? ;-)

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  8. Peering issue... by mariushm · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For me it looks more like Orange not wishing to do peering with Cogent and Tata, both used by Megaupload. As bandwidth through the other links costs Orange money, they probably throttle bandwidth with megaupload or something like that.

  9. As said a thousand times ... by McTickles · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It is a peering issue, France Telecom is trying to push OpenTransit on the market by making Level3, Cogent look bad.

    Orange users can, as I told them many times before, contact the OpenTransit NOC to complain.

  10. Re:Common Carrier by Thundersnatch · · Score: 2

    ...except ISPs are not Common Carriers in the USA. Please stop talking out of your ass.

  11. Working for a Tier-1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I work for a "Tier-1" ISP. FT (Opentransit) AS5511 is a legacy telco that has engaged in highly protective market practices. In order to interconnect within Paris (for example) they will ask that you pay them to interconnect. They also are surprised when interconnects grow full as their customers continue to seek the content that is not available on their network. I suspect they think the way about their network the way Sarkozy thinks about Renault. It's french, therefor it's offensive for content to reach france without FT being paid for it. Either the internet is going to move to a more settlement based interconnection vs the existing SFI model, or people like FT will hold their business partners and customers hostage to their own (possibly outdated) cost models.