AT&T INVESTORS NOT HAPPY CAMPERS OVER THE PEARL JAM CENSORSHIP CONTROVERSY

Institutional investors aren't usually left-wing radicals, especially not the types who invest in traditional, vanilla companies like AT&T. But AT&T's shareholders are "alarmed" by the Pearl Jam controversy and some of the company's biggest investors are asking for more information on management practices. Trillium Asset Management is a socially responsible investment firm with about one billion dollars under management. That includes over 200,000 shares of AT&T (over $7.5 million worth). Trillium sent a letter to Randall Stepehnson, AT&T's Chairman and CEO which states that "the controversy comes at a 'particularly inopportune moment' for AT&T as the company lobbies against proposed laws and regulations that would limit its prerogatives as a gatekeeper of information flows across the internet--so-called 'net neutrality' policies. Trillium Asset Management’s letter noted that AT&T’s position 'has always turned on assurances that the Company would never interfere with content passing through its pipes.'"

Network neutrality – or “net neutrality” – guarantees equal access to the internet regardless of the source of content.  AT&T and other telecom carriers have been lobbying against proposals that would limit their ability to provide preferential treatment to the internet for their own content or content from providers that pay a premium to carriers.
 
AT&T’s handling of the Pearl Jam webcast demonstrates the risks involved when corporate management becomes involved with “gatekeeping” of content, said Michael Connor, Executive Director of Open MIC – the Open Media and Information Companies Initiative (www.openmic.org), a non-profit organization that addresses issues related to the future of media and the need for open media in the democratic process.
 
“This is not a political issue – it’s a business issue,” said Connor. “The fact that AT&T did not seem aware that censorship had occurred – apparently until alerted to the fact by Pearl Jam – raises troubling questions about the company’s management. How can a company censor one of the most popular music groups in the world and not be aware of it?”
 
“On the other hand,” said Connor, “if AT&T was aware that Pearl Jam’s lyrics had been censored – and did not immediately alert the public and the band to the so-called ‘error’ – even more troublesome questions arise.”
 
Connor noted that since its founding Pearl Jam has reportedly sold more than 60 million records worldwide and is fortunate to be able to demand that AT&T make available an unedited version of the band’s performance on the web. 
 
“Think of all the musical artists and other content providers that don’t have the reputation and resources of Pearl Jam. How will we ever know if the gatekeepers at telecom companies have decided they don’t meet some arbitrary standard of what’s worth broadcasting on the web?” asked Connor.
 
Open MIC and Trillium Asset Management both called on AT&T to make a full public report on the Pearl Jam incident. “It would be an important step in helping the investing public retain confidence in AT&T’s ability to avoid similar situations in the future,” said Connor.

Below is the AT&T version and the actual unedited Pearl Jam version. Judge for yourself if you think AT&T can be trusted:

AT&T CENSORS PEARL JAM'S LOLLAPALOOZA SET BECAUSE A SONG MENTIONED BUSH

CMJ is reporting that AT&T censored Pearl Jam's Lollapalooza set on Sunday. Maybe they figured no one would notice. I guess this has to be expected when one gets in bed with freedom's mortal enemy: corporations, which will always pimp for the status quo. The was an AT&T Blue Room live broadcast set up and an AT&T "content monitor" found "Daughter" too risque for Lollapalooza fans.

Here's a live version of the song:



Maybe they objected to Eddie quoting that subversive Neil Young! No, it wasn't that. According to the Pearl Jam website it was lines sung by Eddie: "George Bush, leave this world alone" and "George Bush find yourself another home" that offended them so. Pearl Jam doesn't seem too happy:

Most telecommunications companies oppose "net neutrality" and argue that the public can trust them not to censor..

Even the ex-head of AT&T, CEO Edward Whitacre, whose company sponsored our troubled webcast, stated just last March that fears his company and other big network providers would block traffic on their networks are overblown..

"Any provider that blocks access to content is inviting customers to find another provider." (Marguerite Reardon, Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: March 21, 2006, 2:23 PM PST).

But what if there is only one provider from which to choose?

If a company that is controlling a webcast is cutting out bits of our performance -not based on laws, but on their own preferences and interpretations - fans have little choice but to watch the censored version.

What happened to us this weekend was a wake up call, and it's about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band.

Too bad 2 decades of reactionary government have destroyed all the countervailing forces that could protect us against unbridled corporate power. Anyone think Hillary will change that? A little?


UPDATE: HERE'S WHAT OFFENDED AT&T

This is what AT&T did to Pearl Jam.