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Comcast in more hot water over blocked content

Written by Dave Horvath @ 16 Nov 2007 10:58 User comments (12)

Comcast in more hot water over blocked content Previously, we reported that Comcast was being sued by a customer for blocking peer-to-peer traffic on their network. It was believed that the person bringing up the lawsuit was using his internet connection for illegitimate means and speculation arose on whether or not his case might gain any ground. Well, it seems that the customers aren't the only people upset with Comcast's traffic blocking practices.
Vuze a company which offers legal movie downloads to paying customers via the BitTorrent protocol has recently filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission stating that Comcast is hindering their potential customer base by limiting said customer's bandwidth due to P2P traffic. In the official complaint filed, Vuze is asking that the FCC institute new rules which govern network management by ISPs.



The main complaint is that ISPs advertise that consumers need their service if they wish to watch movies and such online, yet throttle their bandwidth in the process. Vuze VP of Marketing, John Fernandes says, "They say that they're engaging in reasonable network management, but what they're doing is slowing down some traffic."

A group that promotes consumer rights on the Internet known as Public Knowledge praises Vuze's filing saying that Vuze is a good example of the harm that intentionally blocking can cause. Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn said, "Comcast's actions frustrate Vuze's business and force the company to devote resources to play a 'cat and mouse' game with Comcast in order to maintain superior service for its customers. We hope the FCC acts promptly before even more harm is done to more consumers and to more companies."

Source:
Yahoo

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12 user comments

116.11.2007 11:22

It's good that some one like Vuze has gotten involved as well. Now they can't say it's all about people trying to get illegal stuff.

216.11.2007 11:52

Quote:
It was believed that the person bringing up the lawsuit was using his internet connection for illegitimate means and speculation arose on whether or not his case might gain any ground.

This man should've patched up all the holes first prior to presenting his case. It'll be ironic to see this whole case backfire at him.

316.11.2007 14:35

Someone should also take the fight to Bell Sympatico. It is a wonder that they even allow emule at all (as if emule wasn't slow enough all on its own without their incessant throttling).

416.11.2007 15:07

Wasn't this traffic throttling suggested to ISPs by the RIAA/MPAA as a means of combating piracy?

516.11.2007 16:41

The more people and companies smacking Comcast the merrier. I hope some serious companies who got a strong financial backing jump in on this and force them to change their strategy.

617.11.2007 00:32

Watch the stock, people. It's all about the dollars. They're losing subscribers left and right. Hopefully, they'll go bankrupt.

717.11.2007 01:28

Oooo nice!

817.11.2007 06:39
ali2007
Inactive

yippi kaye , comcast sucks

917.11.2007 08:29

Good. It's nice to see a company get involved that has it's legal holes patched so to speak. Comcast is a giant that needs to be throttled themselves a little bit. It's time to give all their customers what said customers are actually paying for.

1017.11.2007 11:20

All I have to say is To hell with comcast.... Fios is coming from verizon

1127.11.2007 01:28
pammu
Inactive

Oooo nice

1211.12.2007 16:46

This is funny i see that this is legal or could it be illegal depending on the quality of the movies being sold??

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