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BT expels ADSL triallist

Free speech or Ts&Cs breach?

BT has defended its decision to expel one of its ADSL users after it claimed the triallist flouted the service's terms and conditions.

MR Toker (aka Alp) - who has been on the BTinteractive ADSL trial in North London since 1998 - claimed BT's actions were heavy handed.

"They [BT] are clearly breaching a triallist's freedom of speech. They are attempting to penalise me for practising my rights," he said.

In a letter to Alp dated 3 April 2000, BT said: "We have permanently ceased your ADSL connection as a result of the material contained on your site at: www.btinternet.com/~atoker/doc/bti/bti.html

"This gives instructions on how to re-configure the flowpoint router, an activity which is in breach of the trial terms and conditions."

Alp reckons that's bang out of order as he claims the information on his site - which has been closed down by BT - is publicly available elsewhere.

In a letter to BT he said: "I have covered absolutely no new ground in regard to the router itself. Yet you seem to think that the provision of this information somehow violates your terms and conditions.

"All that I have been doing is exercising my statutory right to free speech by providing a summary of information in the public domain," he said.

A spokesman for BT attempted to clarify the telco's position. He said: "The issue for us was not the material itself which appeared on the Web site, but that it was there at all."

Under the T&Cs of the trial users are not permitted to host their own Web sites, he said. ®

Link

Alp's Protest Web site

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