AT&T begs for entertainment industry's help

TELCO AT&T has asked Hollywood studios and recording companies to help it keep pirated films, music and other content off its network.

According to the LA Times, the company has said that it will work with the studios and record companies to develop anti-piracy technology that would target the most frequent offenders.

James W. Cicconi, an AT&T senior vice president said that since AT&T has begun selling pay-television services, the company has realized that its interests are more closely aligned with Hollywood.Cicconi said that once a technology was chosen, the company would look at privacy and other legal issues.

However, analysts say that the outfit could be on a hiding to nowhere by wasting money on technology that will not stop pirates and only angering customers.

AT&T has a long history of giving companies and government's what they want even when it is not in the interests of their clients. The outfit is being sued for illegally giving customers' phone data to the federal government.

Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights advocacy group said that the move will turn the telco into the copyright police for the music and film industry.

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