Commission Orders Comcast to End Discriminatory Network Management Practices (PDF; 137 KB)
Source: Federal Communications Commission

Comcast Corp.’s management of its broadband Internet networks contravenes federal policies that protect the vibrant and open nature of the Internet, the Federal Communications Commission found today.

Ruling on a complaint by Free Press and Public Knowledge as well as a petition for declaratory ruling, the Commission concluded that Comcast has unduly interfered with Internet users’ right to access the lawful Internet content and to use the applications of their choice. Specifically, the Commission found that Comcast had deployed equipment throughout its network to monitor the content of its customers’ Internet connections and selectively block specific types of connections known as peer-to-peer connections.

The Commission’s action today is the result of an exhaustive examination of conduct that was first brought to light by Comcast subscribers who noticed that they had problems using peer- to-peer applications, such as BitTorrent, over their Comcast broadband connections. When first confronted with press reports about these difficulties, Comcast disclaimed any responsibility for its customers’ problems. However, after tests conducted by the Associated Press and Electronic Frontier Foundation suggested that Comcast was selectively interfering with attempts by customers to share files online using peer-to-peer applications, Comcast changed its story and admitted that it did target its subscribers’ peer-to-peer traffic for interference. The company initially claimed that it did so only during periods of peak network congestion and of heavy network traffic. Later, confronted with yet more evidence suggesting that interference was not limited in this manner, Comcast recast its position yet again and admitted that it interferes with peer-to-peer traffic regardless of the level of overall network congestion at the time and regardless of the time of day. The Commission’s extensive investigation into this matter–which included two public hearings, substantial input from experts, and thousands of comments from companies, organizations, and the public at large –confirms that Comcast’s interference is far more invasive and widespread than the company first conceded.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 10:13 pm and is filed under Business and economics, Consumer issues, Government and politics, Internet, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.