At a recent panel discussion at CES, representatives from NBC, Microsoft, AT&T and several content filtering companies said the time is right to start filtering copyrighted content at the ISP level.
This means Web service providers like AT&T, Comcast, Earthlink, etc. could start checking data packets for copyrighted material.
"What we are already doing to address piracy
hasn't been working," said James Cicconi, SVP external & legal affairs for AT&T. Cicconi has been in talks with the MPAA and RIAA about implementing digital fingerprinting technology.
However, on the consumer side, watchdog groups would say network filtering is no different from Big Brother muzzling free speech. First copyrighted material, then porn, then anti-government
speech? Nevertheless, Cicconi maintains that Web piracy over peer-to-peer networks cannot continue. "The volume of peer-to-peer traffic online, dominated by copyrighted materials, is overwhelming," he
said. "That clearly should not be an acceptable, continuing status."
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