AT&T is back to their old tricks. They have the iPhone and the network so what do they care about the customer. The company recently announced that it was developing software with Hollywood media companies to seek out and destroy those who download pirated items on their network. Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy. There has been a lot of outrage over this announcement, and it is completely justified in my opinion. It's not that anyone is defending the actions of those who download an Iggy Pop tune without paying for it. The problem lies in the audacity of AT&T. Creating a network that is poised to accuse you of criminal activity.
--AT&T Inc. has joined Hollywood studios and recording companies in trying to keep pirated films, music and other content off its network — the first major carrier of Internet traffic to do so.
The San Antonio-based company started working last week with studios and record companies to develop anti-piracy technology that would target the most frequent offenders, said James W. Cicconi, an AT&T senior vice president.
The nation's largest telephone and Internet service provider also operates the biggest cross-country system for handling Internet traffic for its customers and those of other providers.
As AT&T has begun selling pay-television services, the company has realized that its interests are more closely aligned with Hollywood, Cicconi said in an interview Tuesday. The company's top leaders recently decided to help Hollywood protect the digital copyrights to that content.
"We do recognize that a lot of our future business depends on exciting and interesting content," he said.
But critics say the company is going to be fighting a losing battle and angering its own customers, and it should focus instead on developing incentives for users to pay for all the content they want---
This I am sure will fall on deaf AT&T ears. After all, they have the iPhone. But it is actions like this that will be the iPhone killer. Not another device, the company that has the five year exclusive contract. And it will get worse. People tend to forget about AT&T's landline service and it's abuse of long distance callers
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