> This is the kind of statement that makes me long for a faceless, impersonal ISP.
Slightly OT, but this statement reminded me of a question I've wondered about before and researched without finding a definitive answer:
Your average ISP probably has a lot of data which, in the wrong hands, would be excellent blackmail material. What regulations (if any) prevent the sale of that data to whoever wants it?
If you are in the EU there are pretty extensive data privacy rules. If you are in the US, it is a bit more complicated. It would mostly depend on what the US ISP claimed it was doing. If it did something beyond what it claimed it was doing, it could get in trouble. However, most ISPs are pretty broad with their claimed rights. Still a big problem with the bad ISP idea is that it would be hard to exclude children, and that could cause issues.
Slightly OT, but this statement reminded me of a question I've wondered about before and researched without finding a definitive answer:
Your average ISP probably has a lot of data which, in the wrong hands, would be excellent blackmail material. What regulations (if any) prevent the sale of that data to whoever wants it?