One of the big issues in tech and IP policy this year will be the role of ISPs. To what extent should they be common carries of information, enforcers of digital copyright, or delivery networks giving special priority to preferred media providers?
The NY Times published an AP report that the FCC will investigate complaints that Comcast blocks BitTorrent traffic on its networks, F.C.C. to Look at Complaints Comcast Interferes With Net: “The Federal Communications Commission will investigate complaints that Comcast actively interferes with Internet traffic as its subscribers try to share files online, the commission’s chairman, Kevin J. Martin, said Tuesday.”
From another session at CES, the Times’ Bits blog reports that AT&T is looking to act as an enforcement agent for copyright owners, AT&T and Other ISPs May Be Getting Ready to Filter
“‘What we are already doing to address piracy hasn’t been working. There’s no secret there,’ said James Cicconi, senior vice president, external & legal affairs for AT&T.
Mr. Cicconi said that AT&T has been talking to technology companies, and members of the MPAA and RIAA, for the last six months about implementing digital fingerprinting techniques on the network level.
‘We are very interested in a technology based solution and we think a network-based solution is the optimal way to approach this,’ he said. ‘We recognize we are not there yet but there are a lot of promising technologies. But we are having an open discussion with a number of content companies, including NBC Universal, to try to explore various technologies that are out there.'”
Reaction from David Isenberg, isen.blog: Konflating Kopyright and Kongestion: “The two issues should be separated. Network congestion has some very simple solutions.”
