Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic

Found on Physorg on Friday, 19 October 2007
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Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally.

The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users.

Comcast's approach to traffic shaping is different because of the drastic effect it has on one type of traffic - in some cases blocking it rather than slowing it down - and the method used, which is difficult to circumvent and involves the company falsifying network traffic.

Topolski agrees that Comcast has a right to manage its network and slow down traffic that affects other subscribers, but disapproves of their method.

Comcast may have the right to manage its network, but I doubt it has the right to falsify information with a method that could be described as a man-in-the-middle attack. Besides, if they don't like Bittorrent, they should officially say so in their TOS, so customers know it. But then less people would sign up, which of course is not in their interest. So they prefer to stay quiet and mess with them behind the scenes.