AT&T Debating Becoming Bigger Big Brother: spying on peer to peer possible

AT$T the company we love to hate is at it again and giving us another reason to pray that Google buys that spectrum. This time the words come straight from CEO Randall Stephenson’s mouth. Apparently, AT$T has decided that it needs to police our use of their network even more than they have during their illegal aid to the Feds.

This time it’s peer-to-peer networks that have Mr. Stephenson so hot under the collar. His problem – the -gasp- illegal sharing of files like movies and music. Says he “it’s like watching somone steal a DVD from a store…do you do something about it?”

Umm…No, Randy, it’s not. It’s more like standing on a stool in a stall next to someone trying on outfits and happening to see them keep a swimsuit on under their street clothes.

How so? Well, in both cases the crime of theft was the second crime committed that day. The first was when you climbed up on the stool to spy on the individual in the adjacent dressing room.

I believe you’d have a tough time explaining to the judge that you weren’t acting like a peeping Tom and that instead you were rather acting as a good Samaritan, volunteering your skills to provide security for the shop.

Only the shop doesn’t need any peeping Tom security force and neither do we.