courtesy of slashdot...

short version: tim wu as an article on slate asking this question. AT&T, owner of the largest part of the network that comprises the internet, is giving serious thought to snooping at the data running through their network—and would likely be committing corporate suicide in the process. AT&T and other ISPs are immune to liability for what’s on their networks explicitly because they don’t actually filter anything—this is called “common carriage”—so when the MPAA & RIAA went lawsuit happy they couldn’t touch the ISPs. if they start snooping, they’re gonna have to start filtering to find those things, and—poof!—there goes their immunity. long version here.

commentary: as the article notes, AT&T already spied on phone calls. coupled with this step, it looks to me like the board is gonna be toast in the next annual meeting and i beg a bunch of analysts are suggesting shorting ‘em right now.

ed