Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Verizon invokes Slippery Slope
Reed Hundt once pointed out to me that in the process of evolution, many species die off, but some dinosaurs become birds. Is Verizon sprouting feathers?
Tom Tauke, Verizon's VP of public policy, gave an interview to Saul Hansell of the New York Times which underscores and solidifies what he said at State of the Net last week and emphasizes the difference between VZ and AT&T, which is policing its net at Hollywood's behest. Hansell blogs:
Tom Tauke, Verizon's VP of public policy, gave an interview to Saul Hansell of the New York Times which underscores and solidifies what he said at State of the Net last week and emphasizes the difference between VZ and AT&T, which is policing its net at Hollywood's behest. Hansell blogs:
“We generally are reluctant to get into the business of examining content that flows across our networks and taking some action as a result of that content,” [Tauke] said.
Mr. Tauke offered at least three objections to the concept:
1) The slippery slope.
Once you start going down the path of looking at the information going down the network, there are many that want you to play the role of policeman. Stop illegal gambling offshore. Stop pornography. Stop a whole array of other kinds of activities that some may think inappropriate.
2) It opens up potential liability for failing to block copyrighted work.
When you look back at the history of copyright legislation, there has been an effort by Hollywood to pin the liability for copyright violations on the network that transmits the material. It is no secret they think we have deeper pockets than others and we are easy-to-find targets.
3) Privacy.
Anything we do has to balance the need of copyright protection with the desire of customers for privacy.
Technorati Tags: AT&T, NetworkNeutrality, ReedHundt, Verizon, Wiretap
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