Topic: Isp Privacy

The hosts discuss reports that Netflix is testing interstitial ads and that Roku has evolved into a massive advertising and data-tracking platform. A historical look at ReplayTV and its conflict with TiVo highlights the long-standing Silicon Valley practice of "poaching" ad inventory and tracking user behavior.

Congress votes to overturn Obama-era FCC privacy regulations that would have prevented ISPs from selling user data without permission. The discussion suggests the original rules were designed to benefit data-collecting giants like Google and Amazon by hobbling their ISP competitors.

Actor Randy Quaid released a video claiming the U.S. government employs "social media boiler rooms" filled with trolls and sock puppets to manipulate public opinion. The hosts also discuss a recent congressional vote to roll back Obama-era privacy rules for internet service providers. They plan to deconstruct the legal implications of the ISP privacy change in the next episode.

The UK government is moving to require ISPs and telecommunications companies to track all citizen activity in real-time. The hosts speculate that the ongoing political and financial attacks on the U.S. Postal Service may be intended to eliminate the last form of communication protected by strong privacy laws.

UK internet service providers including Virgin Media, TalkTalk, and BT have signed up for Phorm, a service that injects targeted advertising into web pages via proxy servers. Privacy advocates criticize the system for tracking user behavior through cookies and intercepting data traffic. Additionally, reports surface of ISPs cutting off users' internet access based on IP tracking of BitTorrent activity.