Net Neutrality

AP reports on one of the most egregious examples yet of why we need net neutrality -- Comcast is interrupting file sharing between Comcast and non-Comcast users, secretly and without telling anyone they're doing so. When traffic on any part of their network goes above a certain threshold, a Comcast packet sniffer finds P2P connections and falsifies a message from each computer, telling the other it is unavailable.

As the AP puts it, "Each PC gets a message invisible to the user that looks like it comes from the other computer, telling it to stop communicating. But neither message originated from the other computer — it comes from Comcast. If it were a telephone conversation, it would be like the operator breaking into the conversation, telling each talker in the voice of the other: "Sorry, I have to hang up. Good bye."

So of course nobody can get upset about all those IP pirates out there, not being able to steal "The Transformers" off Limewire. But Comcast isn't just blocking BitTorrent (and of course has no way to ascertain the copyright status of the files being transferred -- the AP tried to download the Bible and got blocked. Comcast is clearly going to hell), it blocks any P2P program, like Skype, which is all legal all the time.

So if this saves Comcast money, by limiting how much traffic its networks can handle, then what's to stop every ISP from doing the same, and turning the "unlimited" access you're paying for into access to only the specific files and services that your ISP wants you to have, and only when it's cheap for them to let you? And then where does it stop? Once Verizon the ISP implements this idea, should Verizon the cell phone provider be able to tell you who you can call with your cell phone minutes, and when too many people were calling, end the call by breaking into your phone conversation and pretending to be you?

Anyway, Save the Internet.