Has AT&T Lost Its Mind?
A BAFFLING PROPOSAL TO FILTER THE INTERNET. — Chances are that as you read this article, it is passing over part of AT&T's network. That matters, because last week AT&T announced that it is seriously considering plans to examine all the traffic it carries …
Context & Ripple Effects
A January 8 report had already raised the possibility that AT&T and other ISPs were preparing to filter traffic. The Slate analysis turns that reported consideration into a sharper question about whether a network carrier should inspect and police the data it transports.
The issue matters because filtering changes AT&T's role from carrying traffic to making judgments about it, even as the underlying plan remains reported rather than confirmed.
First-order effects
- If AT&T adopts the reported approach, its customers' traffic would be subject to examination and possible filtering by the carrier rather than simply being transmitted.
- Online services relying on AT&T's network would face a new intermediary with the ability to affect how their data reaches AT&T customers.
Second-order effects
- Other ISPs named in the earlier filtering report would face pressure to explain whether they also intend to inspect traffic, making network practices a point of competition and public scrutiny.
- AT&T's filtering criteria would become consequential for customers and online services, shifting disputes over objectionable or unwanted traffic toward the carrier's network policies.
Third-order effects
- If major ISPs normalize traffic inspection and filtering, internet access providers could evolve from neutral conduits into active gatekeepers over data flows, intensifying the case for rules governing that power.
The trend: The reported filtering plans are an early sign of broadband carriers seeking a more active role in controlling the traffic that crosses their networks.