Corporate Round-Up #1
Each week, we pour over the numerous decisions corporations have made and single out two for praise or ridicule. Our rating system is simple, either the decision was “rad” or “fucked”. No middle ground at MCR.
RAD Broadband service providers who stand up for customers. Just weeks after Verizon successfully argued they shouldn’t have to hand over customer IP’s, Comcast scores a similar victory. You see, companies (in this case manufacturers of porn represented by Prenda Law) are hip to torrents. They subpoena service providers (like Verizon and Comcast) for specific IP addresses of potential ‘illegal downloaders’. Then the shake down begins–”Give us cash or we’ll sue”. Its extortion plain and simple. An Illinois court agreed and supported Comcast’s refusal to hand over customer IP’s on the grounds that “plaintiff’s should not be allowed to profit from unfair litigation tactics.”
FUCKED Monopolistic money transfer services. It’s no secret that PayPal is tops in online money transfers. Nor is it any secret they have revoked access to their service in the past. This week they hit TorGuard (a VPN service that allows consumers to browse the net anonymously) by surprise. Without warning PayPal froze TorGuard’s account for violating agreements. The freeze means TorGuard can no longer access the thousands of dollars their account had accrued, and customers cannot get a refund until PayPal resolves each dispute case by case. While PayPal has the right to ban whomever they want, their policies and decisions of late have been less “pal-ish” and more “bully-ish”. Time to sign up for Google Checkout.
