Re: Vonage's Citron Says VoIP Blocking Is 'Censorship'

Mar 07, 2005 0 Replies


Isaiah Beard wrote:


>>> My local convenience store and drugstore carry certain newspapers, but
>>> not all for my area. Does that mean they are _censoring_ the ones
>>> they don't sell? According to Vonage they are.
>> You comparison is overbroad and overreaching, and compares apples to >> oranges.
> No, his comparison is right on.

It would be right on if grocery stores and newsstands had exclusivity arrangements. They do not. However, cable ISPs have exclusive franchise agreements in many areas where they provide service, and by default and through fancy FCC footwork, ILECs are often the only other game in town. A duopoly doesn't make for much choice.


> I would think of it more this way: let's say that
>> your phone company provider, be it Verizon or other LEC, decided
>> that profanity should no longer be used on its phone lines, and
>> installs special filters to capture and "bleep out" such speech.
>> Would that be acceptable?
> This is a strawman argument,

If it was a straw man argument, then you would have a quick and easy rebuttal other than this.


as this is in no way compariable to the situation with Vonage.

On the contrary: your retail store argument is the only straw man here.


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