Ma Bell to start filtering usage

It's costing Ma Bell billions in upgrades for piracy, according to Yahoo News. [Blogger's note: This is bull. The billions the RBOCs are spending is to provide video and triple-play - needed to stave off the march of consumers to cable. I love crappy journalism, Brian Deagon.]

"Various analysts estimate that about 5% of Internet users account for 50% of traffic.... Another reason for AT&T's change of heart is that it wants to partner with the entertainment industry.... Still, AT&T is heading into precarious waters going down the path of filtering content. It could face legal showdowns, and it would likely be savaged in the blogosphere by the millions of people accustomed to free content. The filters might also disrupt the traffic of people surfing the Web in a perfectly legal manner..... [GE Vice chairman Wright says] entertainment industry and telecom providers are now "in the same boat. That is, we are all in the video business, the distribution business and in the advertising business" .... ISPs do forward notices delivered by production companies to the alleged abusers. In the first six months of 2007, for example, NBC Universal said it sent more than 1 million notices of alleged abusers to U.S.-based ISPs, asking them to forward the message." The entertainment industry wants filtering. However, filtering does not work. "Filtering isn't new, says Fred Von Lohmann, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "I think it's a pipe dream."

My points:

1. The duopoly would have to deploy filtering in the same markets at the same time or likely there would be churn to the non-filtering ISP.
2. The DMCA states that if you filter, you are not protected, since you can supposedly see the infractions. So guess who else the RIAA and MPAA can sue?
3. And how about child porn and the FBI?
4. How about the incurred latency of DPI, especially on video and voice? The network will have increased latency due to every packet being checked.
5. Privacy anyone???
6. Of course, Ma Bell would be on-board - it's the next step with their NSA Program.
7. When are consumers going to stand up for their rights?