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The Associated Press has confirmed that Comcast is indeed interfering/blocking online file sharing on its networks.  It involves company computers masquerading as ordinary users.  This interferes with services such as eDonkey, Gnutella and BitTorrent, which people generally use to download sources of copyrighted materials such as music and movies.

According to Yahoo! News, "Comcast, the nation’s largest cable TV operator and No. 2 Internet provider, would not specifically address the practice, but spokesman Charlie Douglas confirmed that it uses sophisticated methods to keep Net connections running smoothly."

"Comcast does not block access to any applications, including BitTorrent," he said."

Apparently, Comcast customers can download BitTorrent files, but the uploading gets the interference.  This affects users on non-Comcast networks as well.

Peer to Peer applications take up an enormous amount of bandwidth, Comcast seems to be trying to free some up with this move.  "We have a responsibility to manage our network to ensure all our customers have the best broadband experience possible," Douglas said. "This means we use the latest technologies to manage our network to provide a quality experience for all Comcast subscribers."

Opponents of the move say that Comcast doesn’t have the right to discriminate against certain kinds of traffic.  "We don’t believe that any Internet provider should be able to discriminate, block or impair their consumers ability to send or receive legal content over the Internet," said Free Press spokeswoman Jen Howard.

What side are you on? 

Read more at Yahoo!

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