After Comcast suspended a user’s Internet access for downloading copyrighted material, some people are asking whether in the near future similar punishments could be inflicted for accessing ‘offensive content’.
A Comcast Xfinity subscriber was informed that his Internet service had been suspended for 8 hours due to downloading torrents and that it wouldn’t be restored until he contacted the company.
“This alert is to let you know that this month, we again received notifications of alleged copyright infringement associated with your Xfinity account. That means your Internet service may have been used repeatedly to copy or share a movie, show, song, game, or other content without any required permission,” said the email to the customer.
The user was told that further violations would result in another 12 hour suspension and that, “Further notifications may result in your Xfinity Internet account being suspended again or terminated.” ISP Cox also previously handed out a 6 month suspension against a user after receiving multiple complaints.
“Such terminations have the potential to disrupt everything from distance learning to telework and telemedicine,” reports Torrent Freak.
Indeed, now that things like grocery shopping, banking, housing, government services and other basic life necessities are mainly conducted online (exclusively in some cases), cutting off someone’s Internet access isn’t far removed from cutting off their power or water supply.
And if major ISPs are willing to bow to the entertainment industry by metering out such draconian punishments, what’s to say they won’t do the same when pressured by governments or woke mobs? “If Comcast is cutting people’s internet off for civil copyright infractions, whose to say they won’t start cutting people off for “hate speech” next?” asks Chris Menahan.
