p2pnet - rss feed: CIPPIC assails Bell on Deep Packet Inspection
p2pnet news | Freedom:- How long can Bell Canada keep on sliding by with claims its efforts to block both Net neutrality and its customers’ online access are OK —- that it’s just bidnes so don’t worry about it?
Industry minister Jim Prentice should be looking after the people who elected him but instead, as with other members of Conservative government, he appears to be far more concerned with cosying up to vested corporate interests, including Ma Bell.
However, the CBC, Canada’s National TV and radio broadcaster, has now picked up the news that CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic) has, “joined the assault on Bell Canada Inc and its traffic-shaping practices, urging an investigation by the country’s privacy commissioner”.
Bell has not only, “failed to obtain the consent of its retail and wholesale internet customers in applying its deep-packet inspection technology, which tells the company what subscribers are using their connections for,” it’s using Deep Packet Inspection to, “find and limit the use of peer-to-peer applications such as BitTorrent, which it says are congesting its network,” says the story.
But, repeating claims made by others such as CAIP (Canadian Association of Internet Providers), CIPPIC says Bell hasn’t only failed to show its network is congested and that its actions are necessary, “but it has also run afoul of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in doing so”.
CAIP recently filed a submission with the CRTC (Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission) demanding Bell be ordered to to immediately halt its traffic throttling activities, but, “Bell responded by virtually telling CAIP and Bell customers —- users and ISPs alike —- to take a hike,” p2pnet posted, going on:
“CAIP has now come back with a second CRTC submission in which it asks for an interim order on an, ‘urgent and expedited basis’ telling Bell Canada to, ‘immediately cease and desist” from interfering with the wholesale ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) access services it sells to competitors, especially its tariffed Gateway Access Service (’GAS’).”
Deep packet inspection of customers’ activities
Bell began using DPI on Sympatico retail customers late in October ,2007, “but only admitted this practice late in March 2008, after it began applying the same practice to subscribers of other, independent internet service providers,” says CIPPIC.
Bell claims it’s innocent of doing anything underhand, that it’s respecting the privacy of ISP subscribers, but has nonetheless flatly refused to describe exactly what its deep packet inspection of customers’ activities really uncovers, says clinic executive director Philippa Lawson.
“How can they know if their privacy is being respected, if Bell won’t disclose what it is actually doing?” - she asks, going on:
“Our complaint focuses on Bell, but we’re asking the Commissioner to investigate all ISPs who engage in traffic-shaping practices. We’re asking the Privacy Commissioner to investigate just what Bell’s use of deep packet inspection involves. Canadians have a right to know who is looking over their shoulders, and why.”
Nor is Bell alone, emphasises Lawson, pointing out other large ISPs such as Rogers, Shaw, and Cogeco, may be similarly spying on their customers.
Meanwhile, “Internet experts have said the traffic-shaping showdown is the tip of the iceberg in the battle over net neutrality,” says the CBC, adding:
“A growing list of organizations - including the NDP, the National Union of Public and General Employees and the government’s Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage - are calling on the CRTC and the government to institute legislation that will prevent ISPs from controlling what goes over the internet.”
Many of these organisations, as well as Liberal and NDP MPs, will be at the May 27 Net Neutrality rally on Parliament Hill.
And of course, Prentice, et al, will also be paying very close attention.
Click here for more on the rally, and click here for further Net neutrality and traffic shaping posts.
==============
UPDATE, May 14
The CRTC has turned down CAIP’s submission.
Click here for CRTC Bell throttling decision: full document.
Jon Newton - p2pnet
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May 13th, 2008 at 11:41 am
A PDF copy of the submission itself can be viewed at this link
http://www.cippic.ca/uploads/Bell-DPI-PIPEDAcomplaint_09May08.pdf
It’s very readable and worth a look.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
You need more consumer choices, so that Bell customers that object to this company’s service, can seek a different provider, regardless of “Net Neutrality”
If Net Neutrality remains unenforced, service providers would still retain the power to decide whether or not to regulate their connection service. Providers that advertised a service centered around “Unregulated Connections” would have a market.
This is why I still think the internet should be free, and wireless. If the internet becomes too regulated, rogue networks will probably surface, and create a “free internet” of sorts. Imagine p2p traffic on these.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Then they’ll try to sue us for “pirating the internet”
May 14th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Stray:
There are many providers other than Bell in quebec (I am with AEI)… but the problem is every DSL ISP have to use Bell’s network (because its the only one available), they are affected too by Bell’s new traffic shaping policy (and they are royally pissed about it).
So the only alternative is cable (videotron), with a transfer cap, .. oh and also videotron owned by a company (Quebecor) who owns a music retail chain (Archambault).. I’m not sure I want to go there