AT&T the new secret police of USA Corporations...

[maplelodge]

Just read this aritcle and I found this funny... how Americans are so proud of their freedom and you have a corporation pull this off...


AT&T has revised their Terms of Service in a manner that should horrify the consumer public. Usually such updates screw the customer subtly, but AT&T's new adjustment ironically pulls freedom of speech directly from those using AT&T's service to speak. In short, if you slam AT&T, they can pull your service:

AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice, for conduct that AT&T believes...(c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries.
Of course, AT&T has overlooked one important fact about their TOS: they can't cancel a customer's service who will no longer do business with them anyway. Changes in TOS are often a loophole out of your contract. And if I were an AT&T customer, my choice would be pretty clear.

[Antonito]

This isn't so much a freedom of speech issue as much as it is AT&T raping themselves.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I'm not sure I completely understand this.

AT&T can cancel your service if you slander them or their name, right? So whats that whole thing about TOS? Maybe it's because I only got 3 hours of sleep last night before school, but would someone indulge me and explain it in simpler terms?

[Xtrema]

You mean this very same AT&T?

http://gigaom.com/2007/08/08/att-censored-pearl-jam-webcast/

Well, they are all merging back which = less choice for consumer and more power to them.

[Antonito]

Originally posted by LilDrunkenSmurf
I'm not sure I completely understand this.

AT&T can cancel your service if you slander them or their name, right? So whats that whole thing about TOS? Maybe it's because I only got 3 hours of sleep last night before school, but would someone indulge me and explain it in simpler terms?

As far as I can tell, they have revised their terms of service to include this whole slander thing, and applying it to existing contracts. If a company tris to change the terms of a contract midway through, there are a lot of things that you can do to get out of the contract now.

[tacsniper]

but if you slander them, they have to spy on your conversations etc. to know right? so isn't there some sort of privacy issue here?

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by Antonito


As far as I can tell, they have revised their terms of service to include this whole slander thing, and applying it to existing contracts. If a company tris to change the terms of a contract midway through, there are a lot of things that you can do to get out of the contract now.

That is exactly what it means. The terms of service which were agreed upon in contract have changed, so the contract can be voided.


Originally posted by tacsniper
but if you slander them, they have to spy on your conversations etc. to know right? so isn't there some sort of privacy issue here?

Doesn't seem like it. From the wording of the article it seems to be more about the internet, I don't think AT&T checking what you are having them host is a privacy issue.

[01RedDX]

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