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Apr 11, 2008 -- ISPs playing the role of Big Brother
If you use AT&T for DSL service, did you know that the ISP reserves the right to block your access to a website if they don't like the content? That is a restriction of free speech. Under AT&T's terms of service, they have the right to read your e-mails, IMs and keep records of the websites you visit. When a reporter contacted them about their violation of net neutrality, AT&T said they'll remove the clause from their terms of service. But they had not done so when the reporter checked again several months later. Maybe now they'll finally remove it. More likely they'll just block your access to Clarkhoward.com when this information goes up on the website! But AT&T is not alone in what it's doing. Comcast also had a history of blocking customers' access to content they didn't like. What we need is a federal policy for net neutrality. ISPs simply sell you a service, they're not Big Brother!
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BE WARNED!!! We had our phone and dsl service cut off because of a billing error--which was corrected within 2 hours. 31 days later we cannot get into our bellsouth.net emails and we call att-we are informed that our emails are GONE FOREVER!! all of our folders, files, photos, email addresses, all of our bills are delivered to our email address--not paper! We are in a big MESS! ATT says they are not able to recover any of our data! Then a few hours later we cannot get online at all--we call ATT again and they tell us that we have to set everything up again--something we were not told a few hours earlier when on the phone about where our emails went. Since our emails were gone--we had no DSL access.....NIGHTMARE!!!
Use hotmail-yahoo-gmail-anything but ATT for your important bills and communications. It's FREE and they do not DUMP your data!!!
Going to get Comcast ISP, and Vontage phone service--ATT is really aweful.
BIG BROTHER
Thanks Clark, for keeping us informed, and not being afraid of big corporations.
ISP playing BIG BROTHER
I shouldn't have to pay for an ISP or the govn't to snoop or regulate which website I visit. The service is not free; NOWW is the service is free they can snoop all they want. It's aweful that in this so call free Country, we the citizens are charged for services and still treated as if we are in a communist country. I really can't tell the difference between this so called democrated country and communist countries other than we elect or dictators.
Big Brother
Clark, the note you make on the ISP's i think is in part do to regulation's that allow the ISP's to report to the Govt. the sites that may be of interest to them and at the same time gives them certain rights. I don't think the Federal Govt. is going to make a change.
BigBrother
Use a proxy http://www.torproject.org/ and privoxy http://www.privoxy.org/ and nobody can snoop on you.
ATT Internet
Doesn't google keep records of all your transactions also (including emails)? It's the new hysteria in our country...it's called pervasive surviellance. CNBC recently did a special on the myth of online privacy-there is none...and what's more your employer can use it to fire you. Think we live in a free country...think again.
