The newest AT&T Terms of Service has an interesting new clause, which is the BEST argument for Net Neutrality that’s come down the pike yet. They will SHUT OFF your service if you badmouth AT&T. This is the applicable clause, and pay attention to c:
5.1 Suspension/Termination. Your Service may be suspended or terminated if your payment is past due and such condition continues un-remedied for thirty (30) days. In addition, AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice, for conduct that AT&T believes (a) violates the Acceptable Use Policy; (b) constitutes a violation of any law, regulation or tariff (including, without limitation, copyright and intellectual property laws) or a violation of these TOS, or any applicable policies or guidelines, or (c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries. Termination or suspension by AT&T of Service also constitutes termination or suspension (as applicable) of your license to use any Software. AT&T may also terminate or suspend your Service if you provide false or inaccurate information that is required for the provision of Service or is necessary to allow AT&T to bill you for Service.
“Tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T” is a pretty broad concept. That means that anyone who complains about the AT&T wiretaps, or who criticizes AT&T’s censorship, or . . .
If my area were controlled by AT&T I’d be in deep shit, and I know that there are a LOT of areas where AT&T is the only broadband and cellular provider. I hope Congress fixes this runaway train before it’s too late. This is entirely out of hand.
Technorati Tags: AT&T, Censorship, Broadband
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BitchSlapped on 09/29/07, 10:40 PM
The FCC, The Telecomm Goliaths, Various House Reps, Various Senators BitchSlapped, and
RSS 2.0,
Both Slap Backs and pings closed.
10/3/07, 8:47 PM |
Holy crap! That’s insane.
10/3/07, 8:48 PM |
(I threw the word “crap” in there to see if my internet service gets shut off. Or maybe my iPhone…?)
10/3/07, 9:02 PM |
Hey, Katie, I saw a van with THAT logo circling your block and talking to the trashtalking construction workers next door . . .