By Isaac Butler
BoingBoing points our attention today to leaked documents from AT&T that state that " if a customer is flagged 4-5 times for copyright infringement, AT&T, Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon will block access to unspecified "popular sites" until the customer completes an 'online education tutorial on copyright.'"
That seems like a pretty shitty way to treat your customers, AT&T! But BoingBoing decides to get a case of the vapors over this, calling the practice "send[ing] you to Copyright Reeducation Gulag," and quoting their tipster "David" as calling it "Soviet... continuous surveillance that judges you via a faceless bureaucracy without appeal, and punishes you by blocking access to information until you come back from re-education camp. "
Guys. Chiill out. I'm all in favor of loosening and adjusting copyright laws to encourage creativity and, you know, recognize fucking reality, but let's not get hysterical here. Your being asked to wade through some bureaucratic bullshit and fill out a few forms because you tried to watch Downton Abbey six months early is more akin to AT&T forcing you to go to the copyright DMV. It's a minor hassle and inconvenience. The gulag on the other hand...
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