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California Lawsuit Against ISP for Limiting P2P Downloading
A California man has started a lawsuit against the Internet service provider Comcast, claiming that the ISP limits peer-to-peer applications (e.g., BitTorrent) and thereby violates US federal computer fraud laws, Comcast’s user agreements, and misleading advertising legislation.
The lawsuit claims that Comcast’s statements that customers can download at “crazy fast speeds” and will have unfettered access to all the Internet has to offer are false and misleading because Comcast limits peer-to-peer downloading. The suit also alleges that nothing in Comcast’s customer agreement states that Comcast might restrict certain types of Internet activities. The plaintiff has asked for the lawsuit to be certified as a class action, and has asked that Comcast be ordered to pay damages to him and to all other Comcast subscribers in California.
Comcast has not explained what it does to restrict BitTorrent traffic, but some users allege that Comcast sends false information packets which cut short BitTorrent streams. The lawsuit claims that this practice violates the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
The lawsuit has been filed but has not yet been served on Comcast.
For additional information, visit:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/11/comcast-sued-ov.html