Comcast: Using Tor Is Fine With Us

Comcast has flatly denied it has ordered customers to stop using the Tor browser, or that it has taken any action to enforce such a ban.

The statement follows a report at DeepDotWeb, a site specializing in the darknet — a term that can cover both darknet filesharing (a form of peer-to-peer with a restricted audience) and the deep Internet (websites that aren’t indexed by mainstream search engines.)

DeepDotWeb cited two reports, one posted on Reddit (now deleted) and one submitted directly to it. The reports claimed Comcast agents have been contacting customers directly and ordering them to stop using Tor, which the agents (incorrectly) cited as an illegal service. Another agent allegedly said that sanctions could include a suspension or termination of the account, or even a fine.

Not surprisingly that kicked off a firestorm, not just because of the alleged threats and demands, but because for Comcast to know somebody was using Tor raised some questions about exactly how closely it monitors user activity.

Jason Livingood, Comcast’s VP of Internet Services, has now posted a statement saying:

Comcast is not asking customers to stop using Tor, or any other browser for that matter. We have no policy against Tor, or any other browser or software. Customers are free to use their Xfinity Internet service to visit any website, use any app, and so forth.

Livingood went on to say it does not monitor what sites customers visit or what browsers they uses; that it only hands over account activity information in response to a valid legal request; and that although it is part of the voluntary “six strikes” copyright alert system, it doesn’t terminate accounts. He also noted that “our customers can use Tor at any time, as I have myself.”

While that seems fairly conclusive, DeepDotWeb has seized on a line in the post stating “The anecdotal chat room evidence described in these reports is not accurate” and pointed out that Livingood doesn’t detail the inaccuracies. It’s not clear if or how “chat room” relates to the phone calls. That said, there doesn’t appear to be any conclusive evidence the phone calls ever happened.