During the NAFTA negotiations Bell Canada tried to make using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) illegal. While the treaty does not specifically have the term VPN in it, it does describe exactly what a VPN does. From the article:
Apparently, you can count Canadian telecom incumbent Bell among the companies hoping to ban VPN use. Anja Karadeglija, the editor of paywalled telecom news outlet the Wire Report, obtained documents this week highlighting how Bell had been pushing Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland for a VPN ban to be included in NAFTA negotiations. Why? It doesn't want users using VPNs to watch the US Netflix catalog:
"In its submission, Bell argued that Canadians accessing content from a US service with a VPN "unjustly enriches the US service, which has not paid for the Canadian rights" but nonetheless makes that content available to Canadians. Bell's media arm reportedly spends millions on content for it streaming service, Crave TV, which allows Canadians to stream content from American networks such as HBO and Showtime."
[...] How exactly you're supposed to determine that somebody is using a VPN to not watch Bell's own television services isn't really explained, and the fact that enforcement would likely be technically impossible appears to have been an afterthought. As Canadian Law Professor Michael Geist was quick to note, trying to ban VPNs just as they're reaching critical mass as a partial solution to raging North American privacy scandals suggests Bell may not exactly have its finger on the pulse of common sense on this particular subject.
Evil has a new name.
(Score: 2) by goodie on Tuesday February 05 2019, @03:38AM (1 child)
I might look into them again. I tried to have them, but there were issues between them and Bell to do the transfer of accounts/lines and I ended up without internet for about 3 weeks. I switched to cable after that with a Videotron reseller (ebox). I've been happy with them even though I recently noticed that the speed isn't up to par. I have to shop for a new ISP again and I just dread the process... :(
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday February 06 2019, @01:49AM
I use Bell for phone, Comparaction for long distance (I'm thinking of dropping them), and TekSavvy for DSL service over the Bell local loop.